Compliance Management and Training: Drug Testing – Save Your Money! Part IV "Positive Dilute vs. Negative Dilute"

By Sandra Brakstad, President of Midwest Compliance Inc.,
Sauk Rapids Minnesota
800-656-1396
http://www.midwestcompliance.com/

If the MRO informs you that a drug test is a positive dilute, you simply treat the test as a verified positive, and follow the procedures we outlined in last month’s article.

However, if you receive a “dilute negative” test result, be aware that how you treat this test will establish a precedent on how you handle dilute negative results for this type of test in the future.

Last month, our friend Joe Schmo received a positive test result. Once he completes the treatment prescribed by the substance abuse professional, and before he can drive, you must require a “return-to-duty” drug test. Let’s say the result of this test is reported to you as a dilute negative.

Typically, your company drug and alcohol policy will spell out how to handle a dilute negative result for the different types of tests. If this not the situation, you may establish different policies for different types of tests, but you must inform your employees as to your decisions on these matters.

As Joe’s employer, you have a choice to either accept the dilute negative return to duty result as a clean negative and put Joe behind the wheel; or require Joe to retest. What you decide will establish the policy for all future “dilute-negative return-to-duty” test results.

If you require Joe to retest you must make sure that he is given the minimum possible advance notice that he must go to the collection site for the retest. If the result of the retest is also negative and dilute, you may not require Joe to retest again, because the result was dilute. And because your policy is to not put anyone back into a safety-sensitive position without achieving a clean negative return to duty test. Joe is not eligible for reinstatement in this scenario.

Common sense should prevail when establishing the negative dilute protocol. For example, it might be suitable for your operation to accept a dilute negative result as a clean negative for random tests. But, you might want to require a retest of dilute negative results on tests where you have higher liability exposure as an employer; such as reasonable suspicion, post accident, return-to-duty, and follow-up tests. Not withstanding, simple economics would prevail when establishing a policy for how to handle a pre-employment test result. Why would anyone hire a potential problem?

Remember that it is acceptable, but not required, to call for clean negative results for all drug tests.

See you next month, until then take it one load at a time!

Sandra Brakstad
http://www.midwestcompliance.com/
800-656-1396