FMCSA Announces January 1, 2020, Minimum Annual % for Random Drug Testing is 50% and Reminder of Additional Reporting Requirements!

​The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced on December 27, 2019 that beginning on January 1, 2020, the minimum annual percentage rate for random drug testing is 50% of the average number of driver positions. The minimum annual percentage rate for random alcohol testing will remain at 10%.  FMCSA-regulated employers also are reminded that compliance with the FMCSA Clearinghouse requirements begins on January 6, 2020. At that time, covered employers must be prepared to do query the Clearinghouse before allowing a newly-hired commercial motor vehicle driver (or current employee who transfers into such a position) to begin operating a commercial motor vehicle. Drivers must sign a consent form allowing the employer to do so.  Employers must query the Clearinghouse at least once per year for each driver they currently employ. The employer must maintain records of all queries and information obtained in response to the query, for a period of three years. (As of January 6, 2023, an employer who maintains a valid registration fulfills this requirement).  Employers must report drivers’ drug and alcohol program violations to the Clearinghouse within three business days after the employer learns of the information.  Employers must prohibit drivers who have violated FMCSA’s drug and alcohol program regulations from performing safety-sensitive duties unless the driver has complied with the return-to-duty process set forth at 49 CFR Part 40, Subpart O.  FMCSA regulations also now require employers to add language to their FMCSA drug and alcohol testing policies to notify drivers and driver applicants that (1) a verified positive, adulterated, or substituted drug test result, (2) An alcohol confirmation test with a concentration of 0.04 or higher, (3) A refusal to submit to a drug or alcohol test, (4) an employer’s report of actual knowledge, as defined at 49 CFR § 382.107, (5) on duty alcohol use pursuant to 49 CFR § 382.205, (6) pre-duty alcohol use pursuant to 49 CFR § 382.207, (7) alcohol use following an accident pursuant to 49 CFR § 382.209, (8) Drug use pursuant to 49 CFR § 382.213, (9) a SAP’s report of the successful completion of the return-to-duty process, (10) a negative return-to-duty test and (11) an employer’s report of completion of follow-up testing will be reported to the Clearinghouse.