Top Ten Things Employers need to know about the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse

By now, if you are an employer who hires CDL Drivers and are regulated under FMCSA, you most likely will have signed up as an employer on the Federal Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. If you still have not, because you don't think you need to or have not had a reason to query the database, here is an overview of what you need to know and do now.

1. Signing up for the Clearinghouse: First, You'll need to have a valid DOT number if applicable . Next, you'll want to set up your secure government login account that can be used at multiple government sites. The email address is the most critical piece of information, since it cannot be modified once you create this account. Be sure to have all your demographic information about your business available including a cell-phone number that can be used for secure sign-in verification. Once you have your login.gov account set up, you are now almost ready to sign-up at the Clearinghouse. Even if you are an just an owner/operator, you are still considered an employer and therefore would sign up as an employer on the Clearinghouse and will also need to designate your C-TPA (Consortium Third Party Administrator). If you currently do not have a C-TPA, then please consider us, Drug Free Business for your drug testing needs. We serve everyone from individual owner/operators to employers with multiple drivers and companies.
2. Tips and Tricks for Signing Up: Have all information readily available including your DOT number, your physical and mailing address and email address, cell-phone number, debit or credit card information in order to purchase queries along with any other authorized personnel (i.e. HR, Safety, DER) that you want to be able to access your account. Print off or have the electronic Clearinghouse sign-up instructions readily available so you can follow them step-by-step as you do it. Step 11 (entering your DOT portal account number) has been a bit of a snafu for some users, so the DOT has provided this advice if you need help registering: Please call (800) 832 5600 for assistance linking your portal account with your Clearinghouse account. Early morning seems to be the best time to call. You can also email DOT at https://ask.fmcsa.dot.gov/ for more information about registering on the Clearinghouse.
3. Hiring: Even if you hire only one part-time driver this year, you will need to query the Clearinghouse. Employers are required by Federal law to query this database in order to hire CDL drivers. Only drivers who have had some kind of drug or alcohol violation since January 6, 2020 which includes refusals to test, a positive test or are currently in a follow-up program under a SAP (substance abuse professional) will be listed in the database. As of February 2020, there were over 8,000 drivers in this database and by now there are surely more. You will also still have to do the manual paper 3 year drug and alcohol background check with previous employers until the year 2023, when there will finally be a 3 year history in the Clearinghouse Database.
4. Buying Queries: The only way you can do a query in the Clearinghouse, is if you, the employer are listed in the database and have purchased the queries. Yet, another reason to register. You have the option to delegate having your C-TPA (Consortium-Third Party Administrator) do the queries you purchased for you, if that is part of their service package. Queries are $1.25 each, but can be purchased in bulk at lower fees for companies that have a high volume of turn-around or drivers.
5. Determining and Reporting a Refusal to Test: In most cases, when an employee fails a drug test or refuses to follow the MRO's instructions for a follow-up test, that result will automatically be reported to the Clearinghouse by the MRO (Medical Review Officer) of the C-TPA that you have selected. There are however, circumstances where you, as employer will need to report or make the final decision to determine whether or not the employee truly has "refused to test". Did the employee fail to report for a drug test in a timely manner? Did the employee leave during the collection process before being dismissed by the collector? Did the employee refuse to do a required test, have a positive (confirmed) breath alcohol test or do you have actual first hand knowledge the driver was using the prohibited drugs of abuse? In all of these circumstances, the employer has the sole responsibility of gathering and documenting the evidence to make the final determination and report it to the Clearinghouse. Again, you may have delegated your C-TPA to report this for you in the Clearinghouse, but they cannot make the final determination, only the employer can do that. Note: there may be extenuating circumstances right now in light of COVID-19 where an employee may not be able to get a test when it is needed.
6. Permissions: You, as employer will need to an initial (paper) permission from the applicant/driver in order to do a soft query to determine if the applicant/employee is listed in the Clearinghouse. In the event, you do this first query and it turns out the driver does have a Clearinghouse record, you'll need get specific electronic permission from the driver through the Clearinghouse in order to review their record to verify whether or not you can hire them. Both parties, employer and driver will need to register in the Clearinghouse in order to hire or not hire the driver.
7. Annual Queries: The initial query that you do when you hire a driver is good for about one month. If the driver has gets any new violations within that time frame from another employer, you'll be notified. After that, you as employer, are also required to do an annual query of all drivers in your employment, again later during the year. You can choose to either query all drivers at one time, or just pick a date (i.e. hire date of employee, birthdate of employee) and then query the driver when that date arrives. To buy the needed queries, you'll need to be registered as an employer in the Clearinghouse.
8. Reporting a Negative Return-to-Duty Test (RTD): The SAP is required to enter the date the driver is eligible for the RTD test and communicate the follow-up test requirements to the employer. Once the driver has successfully completed a negative RTW the employer will need to register that in the Clearinghouse. Once the employee has completed all the required Follow-Up tests, the violation can be cleared from their record if it has been 5 years or longer. Driver violation records will be available in the Clearinghouse for five years from the date of the violation determination or until the violation is resolved through the successful completion of the return-to-duty (RTD) process and follow-up testing plan, whichever is later.
9. Time Frames for Reporting: Reporting employee violations in the Clearinghouse require they are accurate and completed within three business days of the employer's knowledge of the violation or there could be fines or sanctions involved. If, for example an employer becomes aware that an employee failed to appear for a random drug test, they would want to be sure to document all actions taken to verify this fact. The employer would need to contact the collection site and employee to find out why the employee did not appear as scheduled and document the findings. It's most important to be accurate and fair, since the employee's job and reputation is at stake but so is public safety. Further, an employer or service agent who knowingly submits false or unsubstantiated information to the Clearinghouse may also be subject to criminal and/or civil penalties. If you are in doubt as to whether or not a said action, is or is not a violation, contact your C-TPA or MRO for guidance.
10. Correcting Errors in Reporting: Anyone can make a mistake, so whether it's not entering a violation in a timely fashion or entering violation or driver information inaccurately, you can in most cases, go back to correct the error. The sooner, the better. MRO's have one business day to correct test results, employers should correct errors as soon as they are made aware of them and then document any reason(s) corrections were not made earlier. Remember, once a drug or alcohol violation has been reported the Clearinghouse, the driver will also get a copy of this report whether or not they are in the Clearinghouse database already. The report is tied to their DOT number and so if they are not in the database, will go back to the address they used when setting up their DOT number. If the driver disputes the information is accurate (i.e. wrong person, wrong reason for test (pre-hire, not random, etc.) they can dispute the results in the Clearinghouse. The employee cannot however, dispute positive drug test results or refusals to test.

Now that you know all the ins and outs of WHY you should sign up for the Clearinghouse, just do it! Please note, these regulations are only apply to employers who fall under FMCSA regulations and don't include any testing that may be done under a company NON-DOT program or for CDL drivers who only drive exclusively for FTA for example.

For more information about the Clearinghouse, go to: https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and for more information about us, DFB go to: https://www.drugfreebusiness.org or call us at 800-598-3437.