Opinion ID: 1635386
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Heading: Federal Regulations Provide Avenues for Employees' Redress

Text: Congress has not given employees a private cause of action under the DOT regulations at issue here. See Parry v. Mohawk Motors of Mich., Inc., 236 F.3d 299, 308 (6th Cir.2000); Drake v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 147 F.3d 169, 170-71 (2d Cir.1998); Schmeling v. NORDAM, 97 F.3d 1336, 1343-44 (10th Cir.1996); Abate v. S. Pac. Transp. Co., 928 F.2d 167, 169-70 (5th Cir.1991). Nevertheless, like the Polygraph Protection Act, the DOT regulations impose stringent rules for administering and disclosing drug test results and levy civil penalties for violation of these rules. Compare 29 U.S.C. § 2005 (violations of Polygraph Protection Act punishable by civil penalties, injunctions, and private actions for damages), with 49 C.F.R. § 382.507, and 49 U.S.C. § 521(b) (violations of DOT regulations punishable by DOT fines, loss of insurance, or levy of an unsatisfactory safety rating). In addition, employees have significant avenues of redress when employers fail or refuse to follow DOT protocol in collecting urine samples. Under the DOT regulations, for example, employers cannot require employees to sign consent or release forms with respect to any part of the drug testing, including collection, when the employer fails to follow statutory requisites for collecting the specimen. See 62 Fed.Reg. 16380 (1997). When employers do not follow DOT protocol, employees can refuse to initial the seal on the specimen bottle and can refuse to sign the Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control Form. See id. Without this form, the Medical Review Officer (MRO) cannot verify the drug test. See 49 C.F.R. § 40.33(a), (c). The regulations anticipate that positive test results do not necessarily confirm that the employee is guilty of drug use. Id. § 40.33(a) ([a] positive test result does not automatically identify an employee/applicant as having used drugs in violation of a DOT agency regulation.). For that reason, the DOT regulations require not only that an independent MRO review the test results, but also provide the MRO with the authority to examine the procedures by which the sample was collected, including interviewing the employee to determine if positive results can be explained by factors other than drug use. Id. § 40.33; see also S. Calif. Gas Co. v. Util. Workers Union of Am., 265 F.3d 787, 790 (9th Cir.2001). The MRO must review the chain of custody to ensure that it is complete and sufficient on its face before certifying a positive drug test result. 49 C.F.R. § 40.33(a). The MRO is prohibited from verifying positive results that are not obtained or processed in accordance with quality assurance and control protocols. Id. § 40.33(b)(3). And, before verifying a positive test result, the MRO must give the employee an opportunity to contend that the result is positive for a legitimate reason. See id. § 40.33(c); see also S. Calif. Gas Co., 265 F.3d at 790. If an employee chooses not to initial or sign the seal or Custody and Control Form, the MRO cannot confirm the chain of custody and must contact the employee to discuss the positive result. 49 C.F.R. § 40.33(a), (c). And even if the chain of custody is confirmed, the MRO cannot verify a positive test result if aware that the urine sample was not obtained in accordance with the DOT protocols. Id. § 40.33(b). These protections reduce the risk of harm and likelihood of injury to an employee whose employer negligently collects urine samples for drug testing. Solomon did not attempt to utilize these avenues of redress. On the day Solomon was first employed, Mission gave him explicit guidelines not only implementing but also supplementing the DOT regulations. Under these guidelines, Solomon could have requested that the positive test result be reported by the MRO as negative: It is the responsibility of the MRO to make the final determination of a positive test result. If the report he receives indicates a positive drug test for one or more of the drugs tested, the MRO will examine possible alternatives, which may have resulted in this positive finding. He has the authority to check medical records and interview a driver to determine if a positive report has a justifiable reason.... After talking to the driver or reviewing his medical records, it is possible that the test result will be reported as negative to the employer. If your test result is positive, and there are no mitigating circumstances, the MRO will attempt to talk to you directly. Solomon did not avail himself of these protections. Instead, he (1) signed the Custody and Control Form (which certified that Mission complied with DOT regulations pertaining to the integrity of the sample) and (2) did not disclose to the MRO Mission's alleged malfeasance during the collection process. If Solomon had complained to the MRO about Mission's testing techniques, the MRO could have investigated and negated Solomon's positive test result. As it stood, however, nothing on the face of the sample would have suggested to the MRO that the chain of custody was breached; indeed, Solomon himself certified that the chain of custody was unbroken. See 49 C.F.R. § 40.33(a). Solomon also could have complained and initiated administrative proceedings challenging Mission's specimen-collection regimen. See §§ 386.12, 386.1; see also 62 Fed.Reg. 16376 (1997). An Associate Administrator for the Federal Highway Administration is charged with investigating alleged violations of the regulations and determining if employers have complied with the statutory requirements. 49 C.F.R. §§ 386.1, 386.21. Upon finding violations, the Associate Administrator has the authority to compel compliance, assess civil penalties, or both. Id. § 386.1. Accordingly, had Solomon filed a complaint, Mission could have been fined up to $10,000, lost its ability to obtain insurance, or received an unsatisfactory safety rating. See id. § 382.507; see also 49 U.S.C. § 521(b). Once given an unsatisfactory rating, a motor carrier is prohibited from transporting hazardous materials and is ineligible for certain federal contracts. See 49 C.F.R. § 385.13. The DOT regulations also give the Associate Administrator authority to fashion relief to the complainant and assure that the complainant is not subject to harassment, intimidation, disciplinary action, discrimination, or financial loss for having filed the complaint. 49 C.F.R. § 386.12; see also Rector v. LabOne, Inc., 208 F.Supp.2d 987, 996 (E.D.Ark.2002) (holding that this scheme provides an adequate remedy to an employee when his employer does not follow drug testing procedures). Because employees can thereby protect themselves from harm, we have less incentive to create a duty requiring employers to exercise ordinary care in collecting employees' specimens for drug testing. Solomon sued in court rather than pursuing these administrative remedies. We recognize that curtailing drug use in trucking is, as the regulations indicate, a national concern requiring national standards. See 49 C.F.R. § 391.81. But we are not persuaded that case-by-case adjudication of collection procedures through tort litigation would serve the broader interest Solomon quite properly seeks to protect. Applying the Phillips risk/utility factors here, we agree there is a serious risk that an employee can be harmed by a false positive drug test. However, the risk is reduced by the protection DOT regulations afford to the employees. As we have seen, the DOT's comprehensive statutory and regulatory scheme, coupled with the authority granted to the MRO, affords significant protection to employees who are the subject of random drug tests. Without these protections, the risk of harm resulting from a negligently conducted urinalysis test would be great. But here, the DOT regulations strike an appropriate balance between the need for efficient drug testing and the requirement that each employee have the means to insist on the integrity of the process. While the regulations do not create a private cause of action for an employer's breach of DOT protocols, employees are entitled to compel compliance by invoking regulations already in place. Those regulations serve both as an incentive for employers to carefully abide by those protocols and as a safe harbor for employees whose test results are tainted by unacceptable breaches of collection procedures. We therefore decline to impose a common-law duty on employers who conduct in-house urine specimen collection under the DOT regulations.