f your DOT drug test has been verified positive by a Medical Review Officer (MRO), you must stop performing DOT safety-sensitive duties and begin the Return-to-Duty process with a DOT-qualified Substance Abuse Professional (SAP). Your SAP will evaluate your needs, recommend education and/or treatment, and conduct a follow-up evaluation to determine whether you have successfully complied. Before returning to safety-sensitive work, you must also complete the required Return-to-Duty test with a negative result. Your employer makes the decision about returning you to work. You don’t have to figure out your first step alone. Willroth Consulting provides in-person initial SAP evaluations in Conway, Arkansas.

There is no set timeline. The length depends on your SAP’s recommendations and your progress in completing them. Your SAP monitors your progress through your education and/or treatment provider. When your provider confirms you have completed the recommendations, you will be scheduled for a Follow-Up Evaluation.

Willroth Consulting provides DOT SAP evaluations in person at our office at 1105 Deer Street, Suite 14, Conway, Arkansas 72032. Abby Willroth is qualified to evaluate safety-sensitive employees under all six DOT agencies: FAA, FMCSA, FRA, FTA, PHMSA, and USCG. Appointments are by advance scheduling only. Your employer is also required to give you a list of qualified SAPs readily available to you, at no cost. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to get started. (49 CFR 40.281, 40.287)

A new DOT employer must request, with your written consent, your drug and alcohol testing information from DOT-regulated employers you worked for in the previous two years. If you had a violation, the new employer must not use you in a safety-sensitive position without documentation that you successfully completed the Return-To-Duty process. For FMCSA-regulated positions, the employer must also run a full query of the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. Your Follow-Up Testing Plan continues with your new employer. (49 CFR 40.25, 40.307; 49 CFR 382.701)

A Department of Transportation (DOT) Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) Evaluation is a comprehensive clinical assessment required for safety-sensitive employees who have violated DOT drug and alcohol testing regulations. The evaluation is conducted by a qualified Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) and may be performed either in person or remotely through real-time, two-way audiovisual communication, as permitted under federal regulations. During the Initial SAP Evaluation, the SAP assesses the employee's substance use history, patterns of alcohol and/or drug use, and other relevant clinical factors to determine the appropriate education and/or treatment recommendations based on the employee's individual needs.

The SAP conducts a comprehensive in-person or remote face-to-face clinical assessment to determine what assistance the safety-sensitive employee needs to resolve problems associated with alcohol and/or drug use. The SAP must recommend a course of education and/or treatment that the employee must successfully complete before returning to DOT safety-sensitive duties. The SAP serves as the gatekeeper of the Return-To-Duty process. (49 CFR 40.291, 40.293)

DOT regulations do not require you to complete the Return-To-Duty process to work in a non-DOT position. However, your violation remains open. You must complete the Return-To-Duty process before performing safety-sensitive duties for any DOT-regulated employer in the future, no matter how much time has passed. For CDL and CLP holders, your Clearinghouse status remains “prohibited” until the process is complete. (49 CFR 40.285; 49 CFR 382.503)

A DOT-regulated employer must ask whether you tested positive or refused a pre-employment test in the past two years for a safety-sensitive job you applied for but did not get. Performing safety-sensitive duties without completing the Return-To-Duty process is a violation of DOT regulations and may result in civil penalties under the applicable DOT agency’s rules. (49 CFR 40.25)

FAA: Federal Aviation Administration FMCSA: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FRA: Federal Railroad Administration FTA: Federal Transit Administration PHMSA: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration USCG: United States Coast Guard (part of the Department of Homeland Security, which follows 49 CFR Part 40 drug testing procedures)

If your SAP determines you have demonstrated successful compliance, your SAP sends the Follow-Up Evaluation Report directly to your employer’s DER. Your employer decides whether to return you to safety-sensitive duties and is not required to do so. If your employer returns you to duty, you must first take a directly observed Return-To-Duty test with a negative result. You will then be subject to your SAP’s Follow-Up Testing Plan. (49 CFR 40.67, 40.305, 40.311)

Your SAP determines the number and frequency of follow-up tests and whether they are for drugs, alcohol, or both. You must have at least six unannounced tests in your first 12 months back on safety-sensitive duty, and follow-up testing may continue for up to 60 months. Your SAP may end follow-up testing at any time after the first 12 months. Follow-up drug tests are directly observed. Follow-up tests are in addition to any random, post-accident, or other tests your employer conducts, and you will not be told in advance when they will occur. (49 CFR 40.67, 40.307)

A verified positive, adulterated, or substituted drug test, an alcohol test of 0.04 or greater, or a refusal to test is a new violation. You must be removed from safety-sensitive duties and complete a new Return-To-Duty process with a new SAP evaluation. Whether you keep your job is determined by your employer’s policy. (49 CFR 40.285) ​

Your employer must provide you, at no cost, a list of qualified SAPs who are readily available to you, with their names, addresses, and telephone numbers. The employer may provide this list directly or through a C/TPA or other service agent. An employer that fails to provide the list may be subject to enforcement action by the DOT agency with jurisdiction. (49 CFR 40.281, 40.287)

If you hold a CDL or CLP, your violation is recorded in the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse and your status is “prohibited.” You must register in the Clearinghouse and designate your SAP. Your SAP reports the date of your Initial Evaluation and the date you became eligible for Return-To-Duty testing. Your employer reports your negative Return-To-Duty test and the completion of your Follow-Up Testing Plan. (49 CFR 382.503, 382.705)