FMCSA Says Staffing Agencies Are Subjected to DOT Drug Testing Regulations

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is confirming its drug and alcohol testing requirements include commercial drivers employed by staffing agencies.

In a notice of enforcement guidance published in the Federal Register on Dec. 23, the FMCSA says it has jurisdiction over companies who occasionally employ drivers of commercial motor vehicles.

“Commercial driver staffing agencies supply the motor carrier industry with intermittent, casual, or occasional drivers to help meet industry business demands,” the FMCSA wrote in the notice. “The staffing agency directly employs the driver and pays the driver’s wages and employment taxes. Therefore, FMCSA has jurisdiction over these companies as employers of persons (subject to Department of Transportation agency regulations).”

The staffing service is the “employer” responsible for testing when the driver is assigned to a motor carrier for a period of less than 30 consecutive days. The staffing service may create its own USDOT testing program to include these casual, intermittent, and occasional drivers.

However, if a staffing agency chooses not to establish its own DOT drug and alcohol testing program, then the motor carrier becomes solely responsible for compliance.

If a leased driver operates or is expected to operate for a motor carrier for a period of more than 30 consecutive days, the driver should be included in the motor carrier’s random testing pool, and the motor carrier should assume full responsibility for the driver under its DOT testing program.

It comes weeks after the FMCSA issued its long-awaited final rule establishing a drug and alcohol clearinghouse for commercial bus and truck drivers that would serve as a central location to find violations of the administration’s testing program for the substances.