INDUSTRY NEWS
Legislation will provide guidelines for hair-based drug testing of commercial drivers
Under the recently signed Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, entities regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will be permitted to conduct hair-based drug testing for both pre-employment and random drug testing.
The FAST Act will first require that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) establish and issue scientific and technical guidelines for the administration of the hair-based drug testing, according to the law firm Jackson Lewis. Under the law, the use of hair testing for random drug tests will only be permitted if the subject of the random test was also subject to hair testing for pre-employment purposes.
The law, which seeks to improve roads, bridges, transit systems and rail transportation networks across the country, was signed by the president on Dec. 4, 2015. The DHHS will have one year from enactment to establish the guidelines for hair testing.
The full text of the FAST Act can be found here.
Source: Jackson Lewis PC, 12/11/2015