company is smaller, you may not have that luxury. As the DER or the human resources (HR) professional, if you are hiring or transferring a new employee into a federal positon, it is your responsibility to send the notice to collector form. A simple fax or scan to the collection site is sufficient. Some collection sites won’t do the collection unless they have the form prior to testing. Since new testing guidelines went into
effect on January 1, 2018, information about the new guidelines should be posted or placed in your company’s handbook since there was a change in the federal regulations.
Regarding Prescription Drugs Effective January 1, 2018 In all cases, drug-test results that are downgraded from positive to negative are reported immediately to the employer. However, the medical review officer (MRO) will pause for five business days before reporting, if necessary, any medical information related to safety-
26 datia focus
risk concerns regarding your use of the prescribed medication. Before the MRO reports medical
information regarding a legally valid prescription to an authorized third party (your employer; a DOT agency; a SAP; or an examiner who determines whether the employee is medically qualified under an applicable DOT agency safety regulation), you will be contacted by the MRO and given five business days to have your prescribing physician contact the MRO: • To determine if the medication(s) can be changed to one that does not make you medically unqualified
• To veriſty that the medication does not pose a significant safety risk to the continued performance of your safety- sensitive job Tis is your opportunity to allay any
MRO safety-risk concerns by having your prescribing physician change the medication immediately, discuss other ways to eliminate or mitigate the MRO’s
concerns, or both change the medication and discuss alternatives. • If the MRO is satisfied that the safety risk concerns have been addressed based on the actions and discussions with the prescribing physician, the MRO will not report this medical information to any third party.
• However, if the safety risk concerns are not resolved to the satisfaction of the MRO, this medical information will be reported, which may endanger your continued employment. It is important to note that these new
regulations have already affected the random test reports in the first quarter of 2018. During their crew meetings with their supervisor, employees need to be reminded of the new regulations regarding opioid usage. Your company’s drug and alcohol policy or handbook would be a good place to insert this information for future reference. Opioids were always tested previously, but it is much more extensive now.
summer 2018
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