For carriers having trouble keeping up with truck driver drug screenings amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Tuesday said it will attempt to use discretion in enforcing the 2020 requirement that fleets issue random drug tests for 50% of their drivers.
The move, the latest from the agency in granting some leniency to carriers regarding driver drug testing due to the COVID-19 outbreak, highlights an ongoing challenge facing fleets on the drug testing front: Because of the global health and economic crises that have stymied many pre-employment drug tests and impeded random testing, drug screening providers are struggling to stay afloat financially. That has crimped carriers’ ability to test drivers, whether for pre-employment, random or post-accident, and their ability to maintain compliance with drug testing regulations.