To complete this process, employers must enter their FMCSA Portal User ID and password. Any employer having trouble accessing their Portal account should contact the FMCSA Portal Registration Call Center at 800-724-2811 (hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. ET).

Employers with multiple USDOT Numbers in their Portal account will need to ensure they have the correct Clearinghouse Portal user role for each USDOT Number. For more information, see the Clearinghouse Portal User Roles job aid.

To add a USDOT Number (or USDOT Numbers) to a Clearinghouse employer account:

1. Log in to the Clearinghouse
2. Go to My Dashboard > My Profile
3. Click the button that says Add USDOT# at the top of the My Employer Profile screen.
4. Follow the instructions provided by the Clearinghouse.

Don’t have an FMCSA Portal account?

Each Clearinghouse user whose company has a USDOT Number should have their own personal FMCSA Portal Account. To request an account, visit the FMCSA Portal page

Not all entities registered in the Clearinghouse will have a USDOT Number. For more information visit the Do I need a USDOT Number? page on the FMCSA website.

Add Your CDL Information

Employers who have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) have the option to add their CDL information. This will create an additional “Driver” role in their Clearinghouse account.

To add CDL information to an employer account, click the Add CDL# button at the top of the My Profile page (under My Dashboard) and follow the system instructions. If you have already added a CDL, this button will say “Update CDL#”.

Employers must not use this feature to enter information about CDLs belonging to anyone else, including employees. If you have inadvertently entered incorrect CDL information, click the Update CDL# button on your My Profile page and click Remove CDL.

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We’ve included answers to the top 5 most frequently asked questions on their website here as well as information about the form changes. To find more answers and information, you can visit their website here.

Changes To Drug Testing Custody and Control Form and Alcohol Testing Form

The FMCSA has announced that there will be changes to the required data on Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control Forms (CCF) and Alcohol Testing Forms (ATF).

Current forms allow the use of either a driver’s social security number (SSN) or employee identification number (EIN) when completing a CCF or ATF. However, effective January 6, 2020, the FMCSA will require that drivers’ commercial driver’s license numbers be used instead of SSN or EIN when FMCSA-covered drivers’ positive drug or alcohol test results are reported to the Clearinghouse.

To see further details about this update, you can check out their announcement here.

What is the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse and what information will it contain?

The Clearinghouse is a secure online database that will give employers, the FMCSA, State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLAs), and state law enforcement personnel real-time information about commercial driver’s license (CDL) and commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders’ drug and alcohol program violations.

The Clearinghouse will contain records of violations of drug and alcohol prohibitions in 49 CFR Part 382, Subpart B, including positive drug or alcohol test results and test refusals. When a driver completes the return-to-duty (RTD) process and follow-up testing plan, this information will also be recorded in the Clearinghouse.

If a driver has a drug and alcohol program violation in one state, then applies for a commercial driver’s license (CDL) in another state, will the Clearinghouse be able to connect that driver’s drug and alcohol violation history to the new CDL?

Yes. The Clearinghouse will identify drivers who move frequently and obtain CDLs in different states and link those CDLs, in order to maintain complete and accurate information on such drivers.

How will driver data be protected in the Clearinghouse?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) takes the protection of personal information very seriously. The Clearinghouse will meet all relevant federal security standards and FMCSA will verify the effectiveness of the security protections on a regular basis.

• Clearinghouse information will not be available to the public; only authorized users will be able to register and access the Clearinghouse for designated purposes.
• The Clearinghouse will require authentication, via a login.gov username and password, to access records. Login.gov, a shared service which offers secure online access to participating government systems, also requires the completion of a user verification process to ensure the proper person is using those credentials.
• Drivers registered in the Clearinghouse will be able to access their Clearinghouse records at any time, and at no cost to them. Drivers will only be able to access their own information, not information about other drivers.
• FMCSA will only share detailed drug and alcohol violation information with a prospective or current employer, and/or their designated consortium/third-party administrator (C/TPA), when an employer or designated C/TPA has requested and received specific consent from the driver. Drivers will be able to see the information that would be released to an employer before consenting to the release.
• Driver information will only be used by FMCSA and other enforcement agencies as required to enforce drug and alcohol testing regulations.

How do authorized users sign up to access the Clearinghouse database and when will registration be available?

Employers, drivers, medical review officers (MROs), substance abuse professionals (SAPs), and consortia/third-party administrators (C/TPAs) must register in the Clearinghouse to access the Clearinghouse database. Clearinghouse registration is scheduled to open in fall 2019. Sign up now to receive email updates, including a notification once registration is open.

Does the final rule change any of the existing drug and alcohol program requirements in Part 40?

No, the final rule does not change any existing requirements in the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)-wide procedures for transportation workplace drug and alcohol testing.

The Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse will take effect in January 2020. This Clearinghouse applies to employers and employees under the U.S. Department of Transportation. If you have further questions about the Clearinghouse, please visit the FMCSA’s website.

The post FMCSA Updates With More Information About Clearinghouse appeared first on Blueline.

And it can be even worse, if those regulations aren’t enforced.

You might recall a couple of years ago when the media exposed some common procedural errors that were taking place in certain drug testing sites around the country. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) ran undercover investigations using bogus identifications and found that too many sites weren’t up to par. The news reports were covered by many different media outlets including FOX news and aimed specifically towards truck drivers. What the GAO found revealed some shocking statistics that showed some serious protocol violations.

Their undercover investigation found that:

• 75% failed to restrict access to items that could be used to adulterate or dilute the urine specimen; individuals had access to soap, air freshener, and other potential adulterants in the privacy enclosure.
• 67% had access to running water in the privacy enclosure. (potential for diluting the urine specimen)
• 42% failed to ask the employee to empty his/her pockets and display items to ensure no items were present that could be used to adulterate the specimen. The GAO investigators brought drug masking agents and synthetic urine (bought over the Internet) into the collection sites and mixed them with their specimen without being detected by trained collection site personnel.
• 19% failed to check the temperature of the specimen.
• 17% failed to add bluing agent in the toilet water or secure the tank with tape. (DATIA Focus. Vol. 7 Issue 3)

So why is this important to you?

Failing to comply with DOT drug testing regulations means that you and your company could face serious fines and other sanctions. And from a legal standpoint, you certainly want all of your testing to be done consistently and accurately or you could face a law suit and other charges if an employee or potential employee was unfairly or wrongly tested.

The collection site is often the weakest link in this circle and therefore very crucial to you as an employer. Let us here at Blueline Services help you. We are a DOT qualified Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) and ensure that all of our collection sites are fair, accurate and perfectly in line with DOT drug testing regulations.

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