Random Notifications Should Be Considerate of Driver’s After Hours Commitments
Scheduling random tests for your drivers close to quitting time can be unfair to the driver. What if the employer knows ahead of time that a driver has a part-time job or has to pick-up kids from daycare and starts at 5:30 p.m. every day Monday-Friday? The employer schedules a random test for 4:00 p.m., and the driver’s quitting time is 4:30 p.m., that’s not enough time with delays from traffic to work-loads at collection sites. Employers should be sensitive to a drivers personal comments.
Another complaint that is common among drivers, deals with the timing of going to the restroom and 10-15 minutes later being given a random test notification.
A story we heard was about a driver who had recently gone to the restroom and couldn’t go “on demand” for the collector. Part of the “refusal to test” regulations, state that once the testing process has started, the driver must stay up to 3-hours after the first attempt or until he/she can provide 45 mL of urine, or it is a refusal to test. The driver didn’t stay so he/she could get to their part-time job. When a driver leaves, the collector is obligated to post the test as a “refusal to test” because the driver failed to remain at the site to provide an adequate specimen. Plus, the collector/TPA is supposed to immediately notify the employer of the refusal.
The employer should inform their drivers that they are subject to random testing at any time during their shift and if a driver has a strict schedule, e.g. part–time job, child care obligations etc., they should make their employer aware of those obligations ahead of time. Then the employer can schedule random tests on other days or times to ensure the driver has no valid reason for not staying if he or she has a shy bladder.
