Ralph Melancon SAP - What is the RTD Process

What is the Return-to-Duty Process?

The DOT SAP return-to-duty process is explained here. The process itself can be lengthy and involved if ongoing treatment for substance abuse is indicated. An employee who has been removed from duty because of a violation must successfully complete this process before he/she can be considered for return to duty or be hired by a different DOT-covered employer.

When is the Return-to-Duty Process necessary?

Department of Transportation regulations require that any safety-sensitive individual who refuses a test, can not provide the specimen in a timely manner, tests positive for drugs, or has a breath alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater must be immediately removed from duty and referred to a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP).
A positive test is a violation. A refusal to be tested is also a violation, as well as number of other things that are prohibited by DOT. For a full explanation of DOT rules and regulations, please visit their website at Department of Transportation ODAPC Website.
When an employee has a positive test or refuses to be tested or has one of the other violations, DOT requires the employer to immediately remove that employee from safety-sensitive functions. An employer who allows an employee with a violation to continue performing safety-sensitive functions is subject to fines.
An employee who has a violation has two options.

1) He/she can find another job, outside of the transportation industry, or
2) He/she can be considered for returning to safety-sensitive functions in the transportation industry, but only after successfully completing the DOT return-to-duty process, and then providing a negative result on a return-to-duty drug and/or alcohol testing.
The return-to-duty process requires involvement of a qualified and trained Substance Abuse Professional, or a SAP.

The Process at a "Glance":

Face-to-face initial clinical evaluation of the employee.
SAP sends report to the employer, specifying the SAP's recommendation for treatment and/or education.
The employee completes the recommended program of treatment and/or education and provides verification of successful completion to the SAP.
When the employee has successfully completed all recommendations, the SAP is informed of the completion and a follow-up evaluation is scheduled and conducted.
Based on the follow-up evaluation, the SAP will report to the employer that the employee has successfully complied with the SAP's recommendation (or that the employee has not complied.)

- If the SAP reports that the employee has successfully complied with the recommendation, the employer will decide whether to arrange for a return-to-duty test for the employee. (The employer is not obligated to take the employee back.)

- If the employee has not successfully complied with the Initial Evaluation recommendations, the employee is not eligible to return to safety-sensitive functions.

Drug Screens

The SAP does NOT perform any drug tests, DOT or non-DOT and is not authorized to do so.

The SAP may require that a non-official PERSONAL laboratory drug test be performed and negative results submitted to the SAP in order to ensure a negative test result prior to being deemed compliant with the SAP Return to Duty Process and being deemed eligible to have an employer perform an official Return-to-Duty test.

If a negative laboratory result will be required, the employee is instructed to contact a local Occupational Drug Testing Facility to request a PERSONAL drug test for the sole purpose of verifying that the employee is free of drugs and can test negative on future tests.

Non-DOT and DISA

The SAP (Substance Abuse Professional) mission is to provide the professional services necessary to aid in the successful implementation of the SAP Return to Duty Process to safety sensitive employers & employees regulated by the Department of Transportation rule, 49 CFR Part 40 "Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs".

Some cases may not be "DOT" cases and may be "Non-DOT" as in the case of managed drug testing organizations such as "DISA" or employee assistance policies. Safety sensitive employers usually have and enforce company policy regarding any or all "Non-DOT" violations. These company policies may include termination without the possibility of re-hire, treatment, minimum time lapses before the employee is eligible for re-hire, or, they may require a process that is modeled after the Return to Duty Process.

Inline with "Best Practices", all cases that involve safety sensitive employment related drug testing violations are treated as safety sensitive whether DOT or non-DOT. The process for "Non-DOT" cases will include an evaluation to determine the need, or lack thereof, for counseling or treatment for an addictive disorder, recommendations for education, counseling or treatment, a follow up evaluation to confirm compliance and success with the recommendations and reporting to the employer if the employer requires it.

DISA URINE DRUG TESTS: Cannabinoids can store in the body for an extended period of time. DISA will suspend persons who test positive on a RTD test for up to a period of 3 years.

For these reasons, and in order to attempt to ensure your protection, if you tested positive for Cannabinoids on a DISA UDS test you will most likely be required to submit a copy of a negative test result on a personal drug test performed by a lab, usually an Occupational Medicine testing company, before any RTD process completion paperwork will be sent to DISA.

Also, it is important to understand that DISA tests test more stringently than the DOT standard 50/15 ng/ml, so an employee can test negative on a DOT test but positive on a DISA test as the THC is working out of the system although there has been no new use. For this reason it is a good rule to wait as long as possible (typically 60 - 90 days) before taking a DISA return-to-duty test after the last exposure to Cannabinoids.