The Monterey County drug and alcohol testing program follows the Federal regulations set forth by the Department of Transportation (DOT) in regard to the operation of commercial vehicles. The regulations are designed to protect the public by requiring employers to test transportation employees for the use of alcohol and drugs.  

The County utilizes a consortium/third party administrator to manage part of the program, performing tasks as agreed upon to assist in implementing the drug and alcohol testing program and to help maintain compliance with the DOT/FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Testing rules and regulations.

 

Employees Involved 

The following employees must be enrolled in the program:

  • Employees who operate a CMV, whether full-time, part-time, casual, intermittent, occasional, volunteer, leased, or independent.
  • Drivers operating a vehicle with a gross combination weight of 26,001 or more pounds
  • Drivers operating a vehicle designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver
  • Drivers operating a vehicle used in the transportation of hazardous materials that require the motor vehicle to be placarded under the Hazardous Materials Regulations

 

Testing

The DOT controlled substance and alcohol testing program follows FMCSA regulations for controlled substances testing (Chapter 6, "Controlled Substances Testing Procedures") and alcohol testing (Chapter 7, "Alcohol Testing Procedures").    The types of tests conducted are as follows:

  • Preemployment (required for controlled substances only)
  • Reasonable suspicion
  • Post-accident
  • Random
  • Return-to-duty
  • Follow-up

 

Clearinghouse

The County of Monterey is currently registered for the FMCSA Clearinghouse which is a secure, online database that gives employers and other authorized users real-time information about commercial driver’s license (CDL) and commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders’ drug and alcohol program violations.  Clearinghouse is utilized to take the following actions:

  • Conduct pre-employment queries (Full) 
  • Report drug and alcohol violations
  • Conduct annual employee queries (Limited)

 

Forms and Guidance

 

References and Resources