Last updated : November 11, 2024
Want to learn about the benefits of on-site random employee drug and alcohol testing? Then you are in the right place! At USA Mobile Drug Testing of Northeast Ohio, our mobile drug testing specialists arrive on-site at your workplace to perform random drug testing and alcohol testing. Establishing random drug testing in your workplace helps to deter your employees from using drugs and alcohol. Continue reading to learn more about USAMDT’s random drug testing which is DOT compliant! USAMDT will help your company manage its DOT compliance program and we also mirror DOT testing procedures for our non-DOT clients.
Random Drug Testing Overview
Random drug testing is an important part of a drug free workplace policy. It uses the element of surprise to act as a drug deterrent for employees. It also acts as a measure designed to ensure that workers don’t merely stop using drugs for the sake of the interview and on-boarding process. It also helps to maintain higher workplace productivity, morale, and safety because employees know they are subject to a drug test at a moment’s notice. With no way to prepare ahead of time, random testing allows employers to identify those employees who may be impaired at work, jeopardizing safety in the workplace.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) requires quarterly testing of the employees within that company. Non-regulated drug testing programs may test their employees monthly, quarterly, annually, or at any interval that they choose.
Setup Process
To legally perform random drug tests, your drug free workplace protocol must first contain a written policy and procedures. This policy protects you from a discriminatory lawsuit filed by a potentially disgruntled employee who tested positive on a random test. By laying out your random drug testing policy from start to finish, there will be no reason to suspect that acts of favoritism, bias, or prejudice are occurring.
Once your drug free workplace policy is established, and you have educated your staff on the new policy, the next step is to implement the testing. The USA Mobile Drug Testing of Northeast Ohio team will be your third-party administrator (TPA) and will enter your employees’ names into a database to randomly select which employees will be tested. When using a random selection software, the employees’ names go right back into the mix with everyone else for each selection period. The odds that some employees get chosen more often and some never at all can be common from a statistical perspective.
If regulated by the DOT, at least 50 percent of employees must randomly test over the calendar year. Each mode of the DOT has its own requirement for drug and alcohol testing. The FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration), for example, tests 50% for drugs and 10% for alcohol on an annual basis (you can check the DOT’s website for percentages for the other agency requirements).
Collection Process
On the day of your company’s scheduled random testing, a mobile drug testing specialist will arrive on-site at your workplace to perform the drug and/or alcohol tests using one of the following methods:
- A urine test is the most widely used collection method. Most employers choose the 5-panel urine test. However, employers of the general workforce are free to use other test panels, such as 10-panel or 12-panel drug screens.
- A saliva drug test, also known as an oral fluid drug test or mouth swab drug test, is becoming a more popular choice for random drug testing and is just as reliable as urine testing. The detection periods range from minutes after using drugs up to 72 hours before the test.
- A hair follicle drug test is gaining more notice because it offers a longer look-back of drug use (up to 90 days for all drugs) versus urine and oral fluid drug tests. Hair follicle drug tests are noninvasive, quick to complete, and create a record of drug use.
Starting Your Random Drug Testing Program with USAMDT of Northeast Ohio
Are you ready to start a random drug and alcohol testing program in your workplace? USA Mobile Drug Testing of Northeast Ohio would be honored to help your company establish a drug free workplace policy. Please call us at 440-653-5003 to learn more.
Random drug and alcohol testing is a proactive way for employers to discourage employee drug use. This increases workplace safety and productivity as well as reduces employee turnover and your workers’ compensation insurance. For more information on random drug testing, please contact us today.
