FAA Drug and Alcohol Consortium TAG/AMS has recently received a letter of recognition from an exuberant client who got inspected by South West Airlines. Says owner Rick Denver:
“We work really hard to ensure that our clients pass their FAA Drug inspections with flying colors. Our handbook has been given great reviews by various FAA Inspectors and we continually work to ensure client satisfaction”.
TAG/AMS is one of the older FAA Drug and Alcohol Consortiums out there. The are located in the city of Los Alamitos and you can visit them on the web at http://tagams.com/ or call them at (800) 824-2671.
In the last few months the FAA drug abatement inspections of our clients have been going well, What we have noticed is that the main problem has been in one area. Many companies are failing to Pre Employment test their prospective employees “Prior to Hire” and or failing to add them to the random pool in a timley manner. If the employee performs safety sensitive functions BEFORE being added to the random pool and or misses the latest random selection than that can cause a violation and possible fine.
Before an individual is HIRED to perform a safety-sensitive function, he/she must undergo a pre-employment drug test and you must have received a verified negative drug test result. This includes current employees moving from a non-covered function to a covered safety-sensitive function. No employer shall hire or transfer an individual into a safety-sensitive function until the employer receives a verified negative pre-employment test result.
The regulations used to allow the Employer to decide whether to require a new pre-employment test if the individual was removed from the random testing pool for any length of time (e.g., former employees who are being rehired, or employees who had been on leave of absence or worked outside the territory of the United States.) These regulations have changed. An employer is now required to conduct a new pre-employment drug test before hiring or transferring an individual into a safety sensitive position if more than 180 days elapse between a pre-employment drug test and hiring or transferring the individual to a safety sensitive position.
An employer cannot rehire a former employee without a pre-employment test and receipt of a negative drug test result. The final rule continues to allow employers to restore a current employee to a safety-sensitive function without pre-employment testing in limited circumstances. Specifically, if the employee is removed from the random testing pool for reasons unrelated to a positive test result or a refusal to test, and the employee is not a hire or transfer, the employer may put the employee back in the random testing pool without a pre-employment test. For example, if an employee is removed from the random pool because of a work-related injury or family medical leave, the employer may place that employee back into the random testing pool after the absence, so long as the employer is not “hiring” or “transferring” the employee into a safety-sensitive position.
At any time, your records may be subject to an inspection or audit from various agencies, outside vendors or even your own company’s internal organization. If you receive a notice of any upcoming inspection, please contact our office immediately. Part of the service we offer is to help you with these sorts of situations, but we may need time and the sooner we start the process, the more secure you will feel when it comes time for your actual inspection.
Welcome to FAA Drug and Alcohol Testing.com. For the latest news about FAA Drug Testing please see the below information:
TAG/AMS, Inc. is what the FAA refers to as a Third Party Administrator, or C/TPA. You have contracted with us to assist you with your DOT/FAA mandated Antidrug & Alcohol Misuse Prevention Program. We are here to assist, guide you and work as a liaison with your program. It’s very important to remember, the FAA requires your Company to be ultimately responsible for running your program within the regulations; however, we work hard to provide you all the tools to successfully run your program.
A common question we receive is “Can TAG/AMS handle everything for us?”
The program works best if your company and TAG/AMS work together in partnership. We strive to assist and help you in any way we can with your program, but there are many items that can only be performed by representatives of your company; therefore, you can’t eliminate being involved with the program. Items solely in your company’s control include such things as:
Identify who at your company is performing covered work. Remember, specific job functions are covered, others are not. It is not based on job title.
Identify reasonable suspicion/cause testing situations and document behaviors, testing and follow-up if required.
Conduct pre-employment testing and ensure you have a verified negative test result BEFORE an individual is hired for a safety-sensitive position.
Oversee FAA Drug Abatement Inspections, DOT inspections or other industry audits.
TAG/AMS is not allowed to sit in on these inspections and your company is expected to be able to facilitate these on your own. TAG/AMS strives to help you prepare for any inspection or audit, but your company is ultimately responsible for your compliance.
TAG/AMS will work with your Designated Employee Representative / Registered Alternate contacts in the following key areas of the Antidrug and Alcohol Misuse Program. We also are here to provide Customer Service whenever needed, so please contact us with any questions or concerns.
Policy & Procedure Development
Drug & Alcohol Testing
Supervisor & Employee Training
Recordkeeping & Reporting
Policy & Procedure Development
TAG/AMS provides advise and guidance on how to register your program with the FAA.
TAG/AMS provides guidance for you to develop your Company’s Antidrug Policy.
TAG/AMS provides a master copy of the Alcohol Misuse Prevention Policy for you to copy and distribute to all covered employees.
FAA Drug & Alcohol Testing Information
TAG/AMS contracts with the Laboratory to provide your testing, required Biannual Lab Statistics and order all your drug testing forms. TAG/AMS will work as liaison for all your laboratory problems and/or concerns. TAG/AMS helps you find and work with collection sites / clinics to use for your testing. TAG/AMS works as a liaison between you and the MRO. TAG/AMS conducts the Blind Specimen Testing required under DOT 49 CFR Subpart F, § 40.103.
Training
TAG/AMS provides materials for you to post on your Employee Bulletin Board(s) as required by the FAA regulations. You may obtain extra copies of this poster for a nominal charge by contacting our office. TAG/AMS provides materials for you to copy and use to conduct your own in house training. These materials meet the standards expected by the DOT/FAA regulations. TAG/AMS provides referrals to other training resources such as online training and live training.
Recordkeeping & Reporting
With your guidance, TAG/AMS maintains your list of covered employees in the Random Selection Pool.
TAG/AMS makes quarterly random selections and will notify your company’s designated contact each quarter with your selections.
TAG/AMS provides an Annual Testing Summary report showing all testing by type.
TAG/AMS provides at least one Year-to-Date Testing Summary Report during the year. You may also request a copy of this report at anytime during the year.
TAG/AMS provides assistance preparing for any audits and/or inspections.
TAG/AMS provides help and guidance interpreting the regulations and sends updates as needed to help you keep up-to-date on the regulations.
TAG/AMS provides a White Program Notebook to your company and updates as needed. Within the White Notebook are instructions, materials and various forms to help you manage your Antidrug & Alcohol Misuse Prevention Program. Additional Notebooks can be obtained for an additional fee, please contact our office for details.
We want to stress that TAG/AMS is available to provide Customer Service whenever needed, so please contact us with any questions or concerns regarding your Antidrug & Alcohol Misuse Prevention Program.
