If you have had a DOT drug or alcohol testing violation you will want to choose your SAP evaluator pretty quickly so you can get back to work as soon as possible. However, we advise you should also exercise some caution in your choice to avoid needlessly making a bad situation worse.
FIRST QUESTIONS FIRST?
Of course, you are thinking of the obvious questions first. How fast can I get this done and back to work? How much is this going to cost me? Will this process require me to go through a lengthy and costly rehab program?
SOME DEEPER QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT ALREADY BE CONSIDERING…
What is the difference between one SAP provider and another? Is this just a money-making racket? How should I talk to the SAP about how I got my violation? What if I truly believe I was done wrong on my test results? I lost my chances at a good company – if this is on my record am I really going to be able to get another job in the same field or should I just change fields now?
The above are just a few of the common questions we get every day from employees who are told to simply “you have to get a SAP evaluation to return to your normal work duties”. So let’s dive in with some brief answers first to help you get moving towards your goal to get back to work.
Quick Q & A…
HOW FAST CAN I GET THIS DONE AND GET BACK TO WORK?
The answer to this depends on your safety risk and substance use status which is what your first meeting with the SAP is all about. The DOT does not want a cookie-cutter answer to this question. They want and demand an honest professional evaluation of your substance use. The brief answer here is that a positive test result can occur for dozens of reasons that range from situational circumstances all the way to full-blown addiction. On one end of the continuum, you may be able to return to duty within 1-2 weeks… on the other end, it may take as long as it takes to get sober from whatever substance is a problem. A truly professional SAP will help you get back to work when your risk level is appropriate. They will also stay in touch with you if you need long-term recovery efforts in order to be ready, even if that takes months to get to. Ultimately, your return to work is about the safety of the public as far as the DOT is concerned. It turns out though that it is also about your quality of life – problem substance use is proven to cause a myriad of negative health problems, relationship problems, family problems, financial problems, and mental health problems. It is in everyone’s best interest, including your own, to minimize your risk of misusing substances.
HOW MUCH IS THIS GOING TO COST ME?
Just like the question and answer above there is no cookie-cutter answer for this. Prices range widely from about $500-$1500 across the country for the SAP evaluation. However, there are also the costs of education, counseling, or extended treatment; which you will not know about until after your initial evaluation is completed. It may seem like this is a bit unfair to go into this blindly. However, you can identify the full cost of your SAP up front by speaking with them directly.
SAPs are not allowed to provide you with education, counseling, or treatment services which they financially benefit from. This is a good DOT rule that keeps your SAP from using your situation for profit. A good SAP will also make referrals to quality programs and make an effort to think about affordable and cost-effective services. A good SAP will also have enough experience to know how to find resources for you that accept insurance or have fees well within normal rates.
Our company prices your evaluation after we hear your case. We range between $500 and $1000.00 and believe that you should be able to get a high-quality evaluation from a SAP that will give you good customer service throughout the evaluation process and will also extend that same good service after your evaluation is done. Remember that a SAP violation stays on your record for 5 years. That means long after you are done with the initial SAP evaluation you will likely be calling your SAP to transfer your records, or to get their opinion about how your testing is being managed. While the SAP is not obliged to provide these services, we believe it is good business to help our customers, even after they have stopped paying us for services. We recommend that you avoid making your decision on price alone. You know what they say, you get what you pay for, and it is entirely possible that the cheapest SAP on the block may not give you the most accurate assessment, know how to find good education/treatment resources, or do good follow-up with you throughout the process and two years from now when you need them for paperwork or advice.
WILL THIS SAP PROCESS MAKE ME GO THROUGH A LENGTHY AND EXPENSIVE TREATMENT PROGRAM?
If you read the first Q&A in this blog you will have a good understanding of how the SAP process works. To restate it here, the SAP should only send you to the level of education, therapy, or treatment that is professionally recommended for your situation after conducting the initial evaluation. It might help you to keep two things in mind. First – it is important to be honest with the SAP so that they can help you avoid problems at work in the future. If you took your car in for service after the dash light comes on you wouldn’t want to tell the mechanic, everything is ok with the car – you want the mechanic to find out if something is a problem, how much of a problem it is, and then take the steps to fix it correctly so that you don’t have to stop what you are doing in the future to readdress it. Second – SAPs do not have a financial incentive to send you to higher-cost education, therapy, or treatment programs because they are not allowed to make referrals to services that they profit from, period. If they are found doing this, they will lose their ability to be a SAP.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ONE SAP PROVIDER AND ANOTHER?
SAP providers can vary greatly due to their philosophical approach to substance use, their training, and their experience. Briefly…. Philosophical approach – some SAPs see substance misuse as almost always being a sign of substance dependence or addiction. In our view, this is unfortunate because every individual has a unique set of circumstances, genetics, family lives, financial resources, etc. Other SAPs are much more open in their approach. They will consider the possibility that a positive drug test may be a reflection of something more situation-based and not come to the table with strong skepticism and the assumption that the employee is going to be minimizing or lying about the incident leading to the violation, or substance use in general. A good SAP in our view tries to be fair while using strong skills acquired over many years of practice and with the input of other professionals. Training and Experience – Generally speaking, the more experienced the SAP is the more efficient and helpful they can be. Experience simply makes people better at what they do in most cases. You should speak with the evaluator on the phone before choosing them to be your SAP. You should have a high degree of confidence that they know what they are talking about. Remember – once you choose a SAP you can’t change your mind. The DOT rules prohibit changing your mind in order to prevent people from shopping around to find someone who will go easy on them.
ISN'T THIS JUST ANOTHER MONEY-MAKING GOVERNMENT RACKET?
As mentioned above, the DOT makes it a rule that SAPs cannot recommend employees to their own education, therapy, or treatment services or companies/services they would profit from in their professional recommendations. This is a very good thing in favor of the employee and stops SAPs from taking advantage of you financially. Also, since SAPs set their own pricing, it is an open market. If someone’s fees are too high for the area they typically won’t get much business because their competitors with lower prices will get the business. Pricing tends to be regional and matches the cost of living in the area where the SAP resides. The cost of living in LA or New York is quite different from the cost of living in Columbus Ohio so there can be a significant variation in prices for this reason.
And with regards to this possibly being a “government racket”… While the DOT is a government agency making the drug testing rules the reader should be aware that SAPs are not government employees in any way and they do not pay any fees to the government to be a SAP. While most individuals including ourselves do not like to be overly regulated by the government, most individuals would also agree that the United States should have some laws around public safety when it comes to hazardous material handling and transportation, semi-truck driver rules, the sobriety of commercial airline pilots, and so forth. You can call that a racket if you want to, but the next time you drive your family on an interstate highway full of semis you might also consider whether or not its a good idea a drug testing program is in place for all those truck drivers you pass or that pass you, not to mention the 30,000 plus commercial air flights per day occuring in the United States.
HOW SHOULD I TALK TO THE SAP ABOUT HOW I GOT MY VIOLATION?
This is a great question! And it has a fairly simple answer. You should just tell your SAP the truth about how the violation happened, even if it sounds kind of silly or makes you look bad on the surface. Remember, SAPs are trained professionals. They have heard plenty of stories that are modified to make the employee or client look better than they really are. This tends to make SAPs harder to fool than the average professional. But then ultimately, if you fool the SAP, you most likely won’t get the help you probably need, and then who are you fooling if you have a substance use problem that goes unchecked? Also, here is something really serious to consider. If you are dishonest with the SAP and the SAP’s “BS meter” is going off during the evaluation and follow-up evaluation, how do you think the SAP is going to construct your follow-up testing schedule over the coming five years? They probably won’t lean toward the minimum of 6 tests in 12 months, will they? The follow-up testing program is an excellent way for the DOT to combat BS.
WHAT IF I TRULY BELIEVE I WAS DONE WRONG ON MY DRUG TEST RESULTS?
This is a difficult situation. You can order a split specimen within 72 hours of the original urine collection. This is usually going to be at your own expense but you have a right to do it. You can also call the MRO (medical review officer) who called you to inform you of the violation. MROs hear a lot of stories and excuses and are reluctant to reconsider a drug test. If you want to make an appeal, are there facts you can present to the MRO? If so, you better collect them all at once as you probably are not going to have the option to have multiple conversations. Lastly, you can make a formal complaint at odapcwebmail@dot.gov.
I LOST MY CHANCES AT A JOB AT A GOOD COMPANY BECAUSE OF THIS VIOLATION – IF THIS IS ON MY RECORD AM I REALLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET ANOTHER JOB IN THE SAME FIELD OR SHOULD I JUST CHANGE FIELDS NOW?
This is a very difficult question. Most people who feel this way will do some research with potential employers to see if they will consider hiring you after your SAP assessment. Much of the answer has to do with the local/regional economy and the supply and demand of workers in your particular field. If a company is very large and has a lot of recruiting power, they may also have a strict hiring policy that for example says a person must be 2 years past with their SAP evaluation and compliance before they can get hired. Some companies are even stricter. Other companies, generally the smaller ones, are more interested in finding good talent and they understand that having a DOT violation on your record doesn’t necessarily make you a bad choice to employ. In our experience in the last 19 years, we have seen the vast majority of our employee clients go on to find a job in their field, though sometimes that only came with much perseverance and patience.
