DOT drug testing

DOT drug testing is the federally mandated program for safety-sensitive transportation workers, run to a fixed panel, fixed cutoffs and fixed procedures set by the Department of Transportation.

It covers roles such as commercial drivers, pilots, rail and transit operators and pipeline workers, and it uses a urine screen followed by laboratory confirmation and review by a medical review officer. The panel includes marijuana metabolites, measured as THC-COOH, at cutoffs published in federal regulation. Employers subject to the program cannot alter the panel or the thresholds.

The Department of Transportation has stated that its testing does not change because a product is labeled as CBD or hemp, and that use of such products is not an accepted explanation for a confirmed result, since the medical review officer cannot verify what a product contained. The department has also noted that product labels may be inaccurate. For workers in these roles the composition of a product is not a defense, and no product can guarantee a test outcome.