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DOT Announces Changes in Regulations Effective October 1, 2010
On August 16, 2010, DOT published a final rule which will go into effect on
October 1, 2010. This rule affects anyone in a random drug testing program
mandated by the US Coast Guard.
The new regulation adds MDMA known on the street as Ecstasy to the list
of drugs screened for in DOT mandated drug tests.
For initial tests, the agency lowered the cutoff levels for detecting the
presence of cocaine and amphetamines, and heroin was added to the list.
Initial tests are the first tests done on samples. If a sample shows
positive results for illegal drugs, it is then put through a confirmation
test.
Drugs that will be screened for once the regulation goes into effect include:
* Marijuana
* Cocaine
* Opiate metabolites of codeine and/or morphine
* 6-Acetylmorphine, which is heroin
* Phencyclidine, commonly referred to as PCP
* Amphetamines of AMP and/or MAMP, such as speed
* MDMA, street name Ecstasy
Beginning October 1, any USCG mandated drug tests will automatically
incorporate the new regulations. There are no additional actions required
on your part
Coast Guard's 2011 Random Testing Rate
Federal
regulations mandate employers to randomly test 50% of their
safety-sensitive employees per year, and allow that rate to drop to 25%
if the overall industry has a positive drug test result rate of less
than 1 percent. While other modes of transportation, such as airlines
and railroads, have been able to drop to 25%, the marine industry has
remained at a required 50%, because 1.53% of its captains and crew
tested positive for drugs in 2004. By comparison, only .56% of safety
sensitive employees in the airline industry and only .93% of safety
sensitive employees in the railroad industry tested positive for drugs
in 2003.
All mariners are urged to consider their random drug program very carefully to ensure their compliance with the regulations. In addition, participating in an effective and well run random drug testing program increases the deterrent effect of drug testing and employers will see decreased drug use by employees. Maritime will continue to excel in offering fully compliant and effective services throughout 2011 to all of our members.
To see how Maritime meets all the federal drug and alcohol-testing regulations for marine operators please see our comparison.
Coast Guard said to be enforcing new rule
In this recent Article in Military Times.
New Price Comparison with Leading Competitors Continues to Show Maritime as Best Value!
Maritime has FULLY COMPLIANT services without any hidden costs. Recent
market research found that several programs quote mariners partial
prices for partially compliant drug and alcohol testing services, and
do not reveal the FULL COST of their services to the unwary buyer. Many
of these same programs are not educated on all the regulations to which
mariners are required to comply.
Only Maritime
offers members UPFRONT the lowest enrollment price AND provides members
with ALL REQUIRED (by 46 CFR part 16 and 49 CFR part 40) services to
assure each member has 100% compliance with Coast Guard and Department
of Transportation rules.
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Maritime Continues to Offer the Best Value Among
Leading Drug Testing Services
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Annual Consortium Expenses*
(With all required services)
|
Sole Operator |
Captain and 3 Crew |
Captain and 9 Crew |
| The Maritime Consortium, Inc. |
$65 |
$260 |
$600 |
| American Maritime Safety, Inc. (AMS) |
$67.50 |
$374 |
$725 |
| American Professional Captains Association (APCA) |
$93 |
$372 |
$930 |
| Alcohol & Substance Abuse Prevention Programs, Inc. |
$117 |
$343 |
$720 |
To learn more about Maritime’s services, or to join Maritime, please see the membership application.
Maritime Takes New Step to Protect Members Social Security Numbers Against ID Theft Identity
theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America. In an effort to
combat this trend and protect our members, Maritime does not print
Social Security Numbers (SSN) on Certificates of Enrollment, ID cards,
or renewal invoices. The SSN will instead be replaced by a
unique computer generated number that will be given to each employee.
Please note: The SSN will continue to appear on forms that are
submitted to the Coast Guard (testing notices, audit forms, MIS
reports, result and periodic letters).
Secure Website: Maritime understands that you have new crew that must be quickly added to your roster. Therefore, Maritime has created a page here on our website on which crew updates can be immediately transmitted. As discussed above, Maritime
has recently taken extra measures to secure our website against
identity theft. Our members can rest assured that their private
information (SSNs, credit card, and address information) is always
transmitted on a secure server. This is a feature unique to Maritime.
Coast Guard Now Requires Vessel ID Numbers as Part of Drug Testing Program Report
As
the result of new Coast Guard regulations that went into effect
beginning March 15, 2004, Maritime is now required to supply your
Vessel Documentation Number (VDN) /State Registration Number (SRN) (or
numbers) to the Coast Guard beginning on your 2004 MIS Report.
What is a Vessel ID number?
The Vessel ID Number can actually be one of two numbers: Vessel
Documentation Number (VDN), or State Registration Number (SRN). All
Companies will have at least one of these numbers for their vessel,
companies with more than one vessel will have more than one number and
should submit all their vessel ID numbers.
Where to find a Vessel ID Number?
From U.S. Coast Guard: The number for vessels that are required to be
inspected by Coast Guard will be the Vessel Documentation Number and
will be on the Certificate of Inspection (COI) for these vessels. The
other number will be an individual state registration number that will
be on all uninspected vessels that are in commercial service. The
state registration number, generally, will be a two letter state
identifier, e.g., CA, HI, AL, WY) followed by an alpha-numeric number
after that.
Why is this information required?
This
information is required as a result of Coast Guard published
regulations that went into effect on March 15, 2004. Maritime is
required to give this information the MIS Report for each member
company.
Regulatory Change on Individual or Sole Operators
Under the regulations, individual operators who work for other "employers" need to be enrolled as part of that employer's program. A crewmember who works on other vessels cannot be enrolled by himself to recieve the random testing notifications. It is the company responsibity to enroll all captains and crewmembers on their vessel. If you are a sole operator, or a company that uses freelance crewmembers please be sure you know this rule. See here for more information.
Background Verification Forms Provided by Maritime
One
of the more burdensome elements of the new drug testing regulation is
where every employer is required to provide a background check on
applicants, by contacting previous employers going back two years, and
provide paperwork and releases. Maritime now provides the forms needed
for this free of charge for current members when a new person is added
to a program.
Maritime Services on Web Allow Management of Your Program on Your Schedule
Another
way Maritime is increasing the value of your membership is by making
your business transactions with Maritime quicker and easier than ever.
We're pleased to introduce the Maritime Consortium on-line. Whether you
need to add a crewmember, remove a crewmember, purchase a handbook or get the latest news,
you can do it all on-line. Maritime processes most requests within 2
business days and provides same-day turn around on "rush" requests
received by 3 PM EST. Other services available to you here at
www.drugfreevessel.com include random testing information, Coast Guard
regulations 46 CFR Part 16 and 49 CFR Part 40, compliance requirements, various forms and much more.
Marine employers who are not currently members of Maritime can enroll with Maritime on-line as well with this application.
Membership applications can either be filled out on-line and sent via
email, or downloaded and sent to Maritime by way of mail or fax. It's
that easy!
Maritime offers "rush service" for marine
employers who want to get into compliance in one day. The employer must
fill out an application and send it along with payment information to
Maritime via email or fax. The application must reach Maritime by 3 PM
EST. Rush service is available for the next business day
Coast Guard Updates Fines for Non-Compliance
The Coast Guard Authorization Act increased the civil penalty for non-compliance with chemical drug testing to $5,000 per day. This penalty also applies to failure to conduct post-accident alcohol testing.
Another
change provided by the Act requires procedures to ensure that after a
serious marine casualty occurs, alcohol testing be conducted no later
than two hours after the casualty occurs unless such testing cannot be
completed because of safety concerns directly related to the casualty.
This rule applies to crewmembers or other persons responsible for the
operation or safety-sensitive functions of the vessel or vessels
involved in the casualty. (For more information, see Serious Marine Incident below.)
Are You Ready for Your Coast Guard Audit?
The
Coast Guard conducts compliance audits on the drug and alcohol testing
programs of marine employers. As a marine employer it is important that
you know what information the Coast Guard will be looking for when they
board your vessel for this audit. To help you prepare for this audit
the Maritime Consortium provides you with a "audit form" tailored to your company.
This form provides necessary information such as your current crew
list, season of operation, the name, address and telephone number of
your medical review officer, drug testing list, and assigned collection
site.
In addition to the information provided on your
audit form, you'll need to have the following: a current copy of your
contract/agreement with the Maritime Consortium, company policy and
Employee Assistance Program (both are contained in your handbook) as
well as relevant logs and records.
You will also need
your Management Information System (MIS) Certification Letter from
Maritime. Maritime will provide a MIS Certification Letter, upon
request, to those members who were members over the past year.
To request an Audit Form, Maritime members can call 1-800-775-6985
or fax the request to 1-800-764-2350. Due to the time-sensitive nature
of the Audit Forms, requests should be made only after notification of
a USCG audit.
Ultimately it is you, the marine
employer, who is responsible for ensuring that you are in compliance
with the Coast Guard's drug testing regulations. That is why it is
important that your company's Confirmation of Enrollment Certificate is
up to date and that all crewmembers are listed under the company's
enrollment, regardless of whether the person is an employee,
independent contractor, captain or unlicensed crewmember.
If You are Renewing Your License Here is the Paperwork You Need.
As
part of the process for either obtaining or renewing a Coast Guard
License, a mariner needs to provide proof that he or she is drug free.
This requirement can be satisfied by forwarding the Coast Guard the
original version of the most recent NIDA 5 drug test results or by
submitting a letter from Maritime that states that you have been
subject to random testing for 60 of the last 185 days and have neither
failed nor refused to take a test. If you submit a drug test result,
the test must have been passed within 185 days with no subsequent
positive result.
Switching Crew
If
a crewmember enrolled in Maritime's program leaves, he (or she) can be
replaced with another crewmember for no enrollment fee. That means a
savings of $60 per person. This is one of the key Maritime benefits
because most of our members experience high turnover with their
crewmembers, and this helps lessen the burden. This is also one of the
ways that Maritime is the best priced program, when you consider all
the add-ons that others will charge you!
Update Your Crew List For Full Compliance
It
is always an important thing to confirm that Maritime has an up-to-date
crew list for your company. Please check your Confirmation Certificate
to make sure that Maritime's list for your company is accurate. If you
have employees listed on your certificate as "hold no-proof" or
"hold-test pending" these employees need to be pre-employment tested
immediately. Your company is not in full compliance unless all listed
crewmembers have been pre-employment tested and have a "okay" status.
Maritime Wins National Accreditation Status
The Maritime Consortium has been formally Nationally Accredited as a Drug and Alcohol Testing Consortium.
Maritime is in a select group of NAADATP Accredited companies required
to maintain and prove: professional competency, proper insurance,
policies which protect client confidentiality, accountability and
client service, and the highest standards of professional conduct. The
NAADATP program requires an exam, a comprehensive course and
application, and is administered by a committee of the drug and alcohol
testing industry.
Since the Department of
Transportation (DOT) does not regulate any Consortium, the NAADATP
accreditation is of key importance, since it sets and requires strict
industry standards. DOT requires companies needing to be in compliance
with drug and alcohol testing rules (transportation firms) to check
carefully that their consortium meets all the required standards.
NAADATP accreditation is the first and only national means to do so.
Maritime is currently the only consortium exclusively serving the Coast
Guard regulated employers which holds this prestigious Accreditation
status.
Since 1989, Maritime has been a program
committed to excellence, through guaranteed full compliance with all
applicable drug testing rules, including 49 CFR part 40, and 46 CFR
parts 4, 5, and 16. We are pleased and honored that an independent body
of the industry has recognized us with the NAADATP status. For a full list of the standards go here.
Maritime
Compliance Update is published to keep members informed on aspects of
the mandatory Coast Guard drug testing regulation, rules of operation
of the Consortium, and to help them stay in full compliance with the
regulations. It is not intended as legal advice. |
