The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a warning to trucking companies alerting them to a scam where companies are claiming to offer government “certified” drug and alcohol supervisor training programs.
“In recent months, we have received numerous inquiries regarding companies using aggressive marketing tactics to sell supervisor training to employers who may be subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s drug and alcohol testing requirements,” FMCSA said in an alert to carriers. “Please note that the FMCSA is not familiar with these companies nor the training they are offering.”
FMCSA rule 49 CFR §382.603 requires supervisors of CDL drivers to take 60 minutes of training on the symptoms of alcohol abuse and another 60 minutes of training on the symptoms of controlled substances use. The purpose is to qualify supervisors for determining when reasonable suspicion testing is needed.
“The FMCSA does not certify trainers or training companies, nor does it pre-approve the curriculum presented,” FMCSA said in the warning. “Employers are responsible for meeting the training requirement of 49 CFR §382.603 including ensuring that any training company/entity that they purchase training from provides training in the physical, behavioral, speech, and performance indicators of probable alcohol misuse and use of controlled substances. It is up to the employer to select which training to attend, keeping in mind the aforementioned guidelines.”
