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From: Randy Shaffer
Password: orange
Date: 30 Nov 2007
Time: 12:26:27 -0800
Remote Name: 149.32.254.242
Good afternoon, Mr. Hunt. I read your post with interest. I’ll try to answer some questions, but first, let me make clear that this forum is not intended as a substitute for legal counsel. Its main goal is to help those of us in the drug testing industry (mainly MROs) to better understand and improve workplace drug testing. Please try to understand the limits of this forum. If you need legal advice, this isn’t the place you will find it.
In a nutshell, you are asking if the Chief committed enough mistakes to violate the DOT rules, thereby exposing the collection process to a legal challenge. That cannot be determined based solely on your post. You will need to seek a legal opinion that exceeds the limits of this forum to determine that. Based on your use of the term “negative dilute,” I believe you have received a fairly solid explanation of your test result. This is a common occurrence and laboratories often report out specimens to MRO’s as “negative dilute.” The DOT rules allow for a second test to be administered if the first test is “negative dilute.”
Here is what I think is at issue: You have been suspended for refusing to take a second drug test. Your reasons for not submitting to testing are beside the point. If your employer asks you to submit, and you refuse, that is a refusal to test, period. At the donor, collection and employer level, we cannot determine “fair.” That is for the legal community to decide. The safety of the traveling public is at stake, and determining “fair” takes too long. Unfortunately, your snap decision to refuse the second test makes the whole point of fairness regarding the first test moot. Your problem is not the first test. It is your refusal to submit a second specimen that is at issue. Good luck to you.