Several carriers propose pre-employment hair testing

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has requested comment by February 21, 2017, on a request by six trucking companies that they be allowed to use hair analysis instead of urine testing for pre-employment controlled substances testing of commercial driver's license (CDL) holders. Five of the six carriers – J.B. Hunt, Schneider National, Werner Enterprises, Knight Transportation and Maverick Transportation – are large truckload carriers. The sixth, Dupre Logistics, operates about 650 trucks with a heavy concentration in tanker applications.

All six carriers currently conduct both hair analysis on their own initiative and pre-employment urine testing to satisfy Department of Transportation requirements under 49 CFR Part 40. In their exemption application, the carriers said their data "demonstrates that hair analysis is a more reliable and comprehensive basis for ensuring detection of controlled substance use."