Implementation Guidelines - Federal Transit Administration - U.S. ...

• The MRO will verify the test result
as either negative, positive, test
cancelled, or test refused. Cancelled
tests include invalid tests and tests
with fatal flaws or uncorrected
correctable flaws. Test refusals
include adulterated and substituted
tests.
• The MRO must report each verified
test result and other relevant
information to the DER in a timely
and confidential manner. The
employer must be notified of a
verified positive, adulterated, or
substituted test result immediately by
telephone or other electronic means,
so the employee can be removed
from safety-sensitive duties
immediately. The hard copy
documentation of the test result
provided by the MRO should follow
later. The employer must not delay
the removal of the employee from
safety-sensitive duty while awaiting
receipt of the hard-copy
documentation of the test result.
Likewise, removal of the employee
from safety-sensitive duties must not
be delayed pending the split
specimen analysis.
• The MRO must notify each
employee who has a verified nonnegative
test result that the employee
has 72 hours in which to contact the
MRO to request a test of the split
specimen. The MRO must tell the
employee how they can be contacted
during the 72-hour period. The
request may be verbal or in writing.
If the employee requests an analysis
of the split specimen within 72 hours
of having been informed of a verified
non-negative test, the MRO shall
direct the laboratory, in writing, to
ship the split specimen to another
DHHS-certified laboratory for
analysis. The split specimen test
must be performed as soon as
possible. The employee is not
required to pay for the test before the
test takes place. However, consistent
with employer policy, the employer
may seek reimbursement for the cost
of the test once the test has been
performed.
• If the analysis of the split specimen
fails to confirm the presence of the
drug(s) or drug metabolite(s) found
in the primary specimen, or if the
split specimen is unavailable or
inadequate for testing, the MRO
shall cancel the test and report the
cancellation and the reasons for it to
the DOT, the employer, and
employee. If the split is unavailable
for testing the MRO will direct the
DER to send the employee for a
retest under direct observation.
• If the employee has not contacted the
MRO to request the split test within
72 hours of being notified of a
verified positive drug test, the
employee may present to the MRO
information documenting that
serious illness, injury, inability to
contact the MRO, lack of actual
notice of the verified positive test, or
other circumstances that unavoidably
prevented the employee from
contacting the MRO in time. If the
MRO concludes that there is a
legitimate explanation for the
employee’s failure to contact the
MRO within 72 hours, the MRO
shall direct that the analysis of the
split specimen be performed. If the
MRO concludes that there is no
legitimate explanation for the
employee’s failure to contact the
MRO within 72 hours, then the
Chapter 7. Drug Testing Procedures 7-21 August 2002