What Employers Need To Know About DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing

What should I do with the semi-annual statistical summaries I receive from
my laboratory or my C/TPA?
You should expect to get reports directly from laboratories twice a year about the testing they do for you. If
you are served by a C/TPA, your summary may be going to them first. If so, you need to make sure the C/TPA
forwards it on to you. The laboratory should not be sending C/TPAs a ―lump summary‖ for all the employers
served by the C/TPA, but should be sending employer-specific reports. This is the report you should receive.
Note that if you conduct fewer than five tests during the report period, you will not receive a summary.
These laboratory reports are valuable to you. They will provide you with a window into your drug testing
program. You can compare them to your own statistical reporting, billing records from collectors and MROs,
and CCFs and results reports you receive. Let these laboratory reports work for you.
This chart shows some examples:
Example
Your laboratory report shows 480 random
tests but your random selection records show
that you made 500 selections.
Your laboratory report shows that you had
100 tests but you payment records indicate
that your collector billed you for 110 tests.
Your laboratory report shows one test
positive for PCP, but your MRO did not report
a verified PCP positive test result for any
employee.
What Employers Need to Know About DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing – October 1, 2010
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Action
Find the reason for the discrepancy and correct any
problems to ensure you are in compliance with the
required random testing rate.
Check with your collection site to see if they billed
you correctly.
1. Check with your MRO to make sure the PCP test
was not ―downgraded‖ to negative – that would have
been a mistake.
2. Check with the MRO to see if the PCP test result
was cancelled by the MRO because of a ―fatal flaw‖
or because a ―correctable flaw‖ was not corrected.