Preemployment drug testing for oil field work is drug screening connected with hiring for a position. The relevant distinction is the position and testing program, rather than the industry label alone. Employers may use drug testing as part of a workplace program. Some work also falls within federal transportation testing rules, including covered pipeline functions.
SAMHSA distinguishes general private employment from industries and positions subject to specific federal requirements. It explains that most private employers are not required to have a workplace drug policy, while identifying exceptions for federal contractors and grantees and for safety and security sensitive industries and positions. A statement about a workplace policy is not the same as a statement prescribing an identical drug test for applicants.
Pipeline work provides a specific example. PHMSA describes Part 199 testing as applying to covered employees at pipeline facilities subject to Parts 192, 193 and 195. Its overview identifies covered functions as regulated operations, maintenance or emergency response work on a pipeline or liquefied natural gas facility. Covered employees can include operator personnel and contractor personnel.
PHMSA includes preemployment testing for hires and employees transferring into covered positions in its program overview. Section 199.105(a) describes the preemployment condition as passing a drug test or being covered by an anti drug program that conforms to Part 199. This is a description of that provision and its alternative, not a determination that a particular oil field position is covered.
The testing program also matters to the method. PHMSA states that required testing uses DOT procedures in Part 40. Section 40.210 describes laboratory screening and confirmation and excludes instant drug tests from that program. This overview does not select a panel or specimen, determine a job’s regulatory status, or provide instructions for satisfying an employer’s testing requirements.
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