Dot Record
What will happen if a DOT drug test is positive will your CDL get revoked?
My friend has been working at this company for around 2 years now. He just recently took a DOT test and thinks it might come out positive. Will he get his CDL taken away? Will it stay on his record?
It is up to each individual company as to what they will do if a person flunks a drug test. This is usually spelled out in the employee manual, it if the company has one.
Some places will fire you on the spot. Others will give you a second chance, some will send you to counseling.
No, you do not automatically lose your CDL.
A past employer is allowed to answer all questions asked by a prospective (future) employer except those related to drug and alcohol testing. A previous employer is prohibited from disclosing a failed drug or alcohol test to the prospective employer UNLESS you gave written consent for the previous employer to release the information. (You may not even know you signed a form giving this permission, so read your application carefully before signing.)
When applying for a driving job that requires a CDL, it is a federal law for the prospective employee to check all previous employers for the past 10 years. If you leave a blank period of time, you are required to tell why you were not working during that period of time, such as (in a hospital, in jail, just didn’t want to work, etc.).
If you have not given specific permission for the drug and alcohol information to be released, then the prospective employer may find out this way: When an employer is called for a background check, some of them don’t want to say anything negative, for fear of being sued. It has become standard practice for the person doing the checking to ask, “Would you hire this person again?” That way, the person giving the information can just say, “No”, without giving a reason. That is all it takes. You probably won’t be hired, or even called in for an interview. So even if nothing is ever said about drug or alcohol testing, a past negative drug or alcohol test will probably keep you from being hired.
Of course if you refuse to sign a form giving permission regarding drug and alcohol testing, it looks as though you have something to hide, even if you don’t, and therefore a prospective employer probably won’t even bother checking any further, and just won’t hire you.
Bowser & Blue – Polka Dot Undies
