U.S. Senators Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas) and John Boozman (R-Arkansas), and U.S. Congressmen Rick Crawford (R-Arkansas), Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Steve Womack (R-Arkansas), Tim Griffin (R-Arkansas) and Reid Ribble (R-WI) all took part in an announcement this week that introduced federal legislation to enable trucking companies to more effectively prevent lifestyle drug users from gaining employment as commercial truck drivers. The new bill would direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to recognize hair testing as an optional method to comply with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) drug testing requirements for commercial truck drivers.
Under current federal regulations,only a urinalysis is recognized by the HHS for mandatory pre-employment drug and alcohol exams of truck driver applicants. But since the number of truck driver applicants who pass a pre-employment urine test, but fail a subsequent hair test is so alarmingly high, many trucking companies have turned to hair testing, which is more expensive, but is more effective in identifying drug users who apply for jobs as truck drivers.
"Passing this much needed legislation will give trucking companies the option of conducting either a urinalysis or a hair test or both methods and will also allow positive hair tests to be reported to the soon to be created national drug and alcohol clearinghouse that Congress adopted last year," said Gary Salisbury, a member of the Trucking Alliance board of directors and the current chairman of the Arkansas Trucking Association. To read more, click HERE.
