The US DOT Return to Duty Process
First the DOT employee must complete a comprehensive clinical assessment with a SAP evaluator in person.
The SAP Evaluator uses this assessment as the basis for their recommendation for an education or treatment program.
The DOT employee then completes the recommended program.
Finally, your SAP Evaluator will provide a follow-up assessment in person to verify that the DOT employee complied with the recommendations from the initial evaluation.
If the employee is found to be in compliance they will be given a notice of compliance to return back to work.
A SAP Evaluation plays an essential role in helping you get back to work
Substance abuse professionals are certified and trained with the necessary knowledge and expertise needed to evaluate DOT employees who have failed or refused a drug or alcohol test.
In accordance with DOT guidelines, Diversion Center SAPs are the professionals who:
- Evaluate DOT employees who’ve violated a DOT drug or alcohol testing requirement.
- Recommendations education programs, treatment programs, follow-up testing and/or aftercare based on the individual employee’s needs.
- Monitor the return to duty process.
- Represent the major decision point a DOT employer may have in choosing whether to place an employee at the steering wheel of a school bus, at the controls of a plane, at the helm of an oil tanker, at the throttle of a train, in the engineer compartment of a subway car or at the emergency control valves of a natural gas pipeline.
- The ability to say whether or not a DOT employee complied with their recommendations.
The safety of millions of people who use transportation in America depends on the DOT employees. We take our responsibility as a SAP very seriously.