How Can an Employer Confirm That a DOT Collector Is Qualified?

An employer can ask the collector for training documentation. Under 49 CFR 40.33(g) for urine collectors and 40.35(g) for oral fluid collectors, a collector maintains documentation showing that the collector currently meets all requirements of the section and provides it on request to DOT agency representatives and to employers and C/TPAs using or negotiating to use the collector's services.

Under 49 CFR 40.15(b), an employer is responsible for ensuring that its service agents meet the Part 40 qualifications and may require them to show documentation that they meet the requirements of Part 40. Under 40.15(c), the employer remains responsible for compliance with all applicable requirements of Part 40 and other DOT drug and alcohol testing regulations, even when it uses a service agent. Good faith use of a service agent is not a defense in an enforcement action initiated by a DOT agency in which the employer's alleged noncompliance may have resulted from the service agent's conduct.

An FAA answer on this topic states that a certificate of training may not be sufficient if it does not include the proficiency requirements. For a collector, the FAA lists examples of what an employer may obtain:

• Copies of the Federal Custody and Control Forms (CCFs) completed during the five error-free mock collections
• Documentation that the mock collections were monitored by a qualified collector
• A written statement from the person who observed the mock collections attesting that they were error-free and monitored in person or in real time, with the number and type of scenarios covered

The FAA answer also covers breath alcohol technicians (BATs) and screening test technicians (STTs), whose requirements are in 49 CFR 40.213 and are covered in What Training Do Breath Alcohol and Screening Test Technicians Need?. Who may monitor a urine collector's mock collections is covered in Who Can Monitor a DOT Urine Collector's Mock Collections?, and the limits on who may act as a collector are covered in Who Is Allowed to Act as a DOT Urine Collector?.

Learn Laws® offers DOT Urine Specimen Collector Training, with qualification training and five live mock collections under 40.33.

An Also offers line on many trainer profiles in the MyDrugTesting.com directory names additional directory categories for that provider.