Effective August 25, 2008

- DOT issued new rules improving protections against cheating on drug tests, including the mandatory use of specimen validity testing for all DOT specimens. A summary of the changes in 49 CFR Part 40 include:

1. This Final Rule makes it mandatory for laboratories to test all DOT specimens for specimen validity (i.e., adulterants and urine substitutes) and for laboratories to follow all Department of Health and Human Resources (HHS) protocols for doing so.

2. Observed collections will afford less privacy in order to guard against employee use of items designed specifically to beat the testing process.

a. Directly observed collections will continue to occur only when there is a specific reason to believe that an employee may be attempting, or have sufficient reason, to evade the testing process.

b. Items such as prosthetic devices designed to carry clean urine will be checked for by observers with both male and female donors. The observer will have the employee raise and lower clothing, and then put it back into place for the observed collection.

WorkSafe Inc. provides workplace drug and alcohol testing and program management to thousands of companies throughout Alaska and nationwide.

We invite you to explore this site to help you build or strengthen your drug testing program - and explore how WorkSafe's knowledge and experience can work for you.

	We recognize the impact on safety that drug testing provides
	We want to be a drug free company
	Drug testing is mandated by our parent company
	Drug testing is mandated by DOT