Understanding the SAP Process for DOT-Mandated Employees

Department of Transportation (DOT) mandated employees who are in safety-sensitive positions are required to submit to regular testing for alcohol and drug abuse. Failing a test, or refusing to submit to the testing, will result in the employee being removed from their safety-sensitive position. They must then successfully comply with the DOT SAP process. Just what does this process entail?

Why is Drug and Alcohol Testing Required?

Safety in the transportation industry is of utmost importance. Rules and regulations protect both the workers in the transportation industry as well as the general public, who travel on our country’s roadways, fly in airplanes and ride in trains. Safety policies, practices, and guidelines were created to ensure a safe and healthy environment for everyone. Drug and alcohol abuse by a DOT-mandated employee creates a critical compromise to the safety of anyone who they might encounter. Therefore a program of regular testing and monitoring of all workers in safety-sensitive positions has been made policy.

When Drug and Alcohol Testing Occurs

All DOT-mandated, safety-sensitive employees undergo drug and/or alcohol testing during their careers. First, they must submit to a test as part of the application or pre-employment process. Once hired, the rate of random testing varies among the specific modes of the DOT. The testing frequency occurs according to the mode of transportation the DOT-mandated employee’s safety-sensitive job functions within. The random annual test rate may be as low as 10% for alcohol, and as high as 50% for drugs.

Any DOT-mandated employee who fails the test, or refuses to submit to the test, will be required to complete the DOT SAP process as follows:

• The employee is immediately removed from all safety-sensitive functions.
• The employee must be evaluated by a DOT-qualified Substance Abuse Professional (SAP)
• In accordance with the evaluation, the employee must comply with all treatment or education deemed necessary by the SAP.
• The employee must produce negative results for all subsequent tests, both in return-to-duty and in ongoing follow-up testing.

Partner with SAP Referral Services

If you are a DOT-mandated employee who has failed a drug and/or alcohol test, it is likely that you have many questions. Fortunately this difficult process is not one you need to navigate on your own. SAP Referral Service (SRS) connects employees who have failed a drug and/or alcohol test with a qualified SAP so they can complete the DOT SAP process.

In many cases, a safety-sensitive employee may be removed from their position all together during the SAP evaluation and treatment processes, so locating and scheduling with a SAP is an urgent matter. Our FastTrack Enrollment Program is designed to get the employee through the processes as quickly as possible, and to get them back on the job successfully and substance-free

Click here for more information about SAP Referral Services and our nationwide network consisting of thousands of qualified Substance Abuse Providers.

SAP Referral Services (SRS) is the leading facilitator for mandated substance abuse evaluations. SRS maintains an extensive network of qualified providers in more than 3,000 locations nationwide for testing violations that originate from any of the DOT’s modes including FMCSA, FAA, FRA, FTA, USCG and PHMSA, or a company’s internal drug and alcohol testing policy.