Drug and Alcohol Testing Q&A - 2006

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Is the employer responsible for the MRO's performance?

From: Craig
Password: orange
Date: 06 Nov 2006
Time: 15:49:48 -0800
Remote Name: 204.108.237.194

Comments

The MRO is supposed to warn the employer if the employee may present a safety issue.  The MRO is to begin the interview with an employee who has a confirmed positive result by warning him/her that the information he/she shares may be given to the employer.  If the doctor fails to provide this warning at any time during the interview, and he informs the employer of specific, private health related information revealed during the contact, the employer can't be held responsible for having this information, can it?  The regulations state that the employer can assign drug testing tasks to Service Agents, although he cannot assign responsibility for errors to anyone else.  Ultimately, the entire drug testing process is the sole responsibility of the employer, at least in DOT mandated testing.  Is the employer's accountability extended to the point where the employer must ensure the doctor stipulated the conditions of the interview?