DOT Publishes Federal Register Notices Regarding Its Oral Fluid Drug Testing Rule

On June 21, 2024 the Department of Transportation (DOT) published three notices in the Federal Register relating to its May 2, 2023, final rule that, among other items, authorized employers to use oral fluid drug testing as an alternative testing methodology to urine drug testing.  The three notices are:

• A series of technical amendments, effective today, to clarify certain provisions of the rule and address omissions of which we have become aware since the publication of the final rule.

• A direct final rule (DFR) to (a) provide temporary qualification requirements for mock oral fluid monitors, (b) provide for consistent privacy requirements by identifying which individuals may be present during an oral fluid collection, and (c) clarify how collectors are to specify that a sufficient volume of oral fluid was collected. Comments are due July 22, 2024.

• A notice of proposed rulemaking containing the same amendments in the DFR that serves as the proposed rule to amend the procedures for DOT’s drug testing program (49 CFR 40) if adverse comments are received on any of the provisions in the DFR.

To learn more about these notices, view the documents at https://www.transportation.gov/odapc/frpubs