Failed Schneider Hair Follicle Test

The official requirement is the last 90 days (about 1 1/2" of your hair). Of course to be absolutely sure, the farther in the past your usage is, the better/"safer" your test results will be.

You made the right assumption about legality. States are setting their own rules, but in the Federal book, marijuana is still illegal, so the FEDERAL Motor Carriers Safety Administration will follow Federal rules.

First off, this is illegal. “ The FMCSA responded in December 2022, saying that they do not have statutory authority to make the decision”, HAIR TEST is not an approved FMCSA/DOT Requirement and is actually illegal for ANY COMPANY to “release the results to another company” this is a violation of your right SPECIALLY if you do have an actual negative self-paid hair test. I did this too myself about 6 years ago before going OTR for training. I’ve heard and seen online how many black and brown people are targeted for illegal hair follicles drug test, I say illegal because it is made for company record yet some shady companies share this information and positive results even when FMCSA TELLS THEM NOT TO, by law. Get a good lawyer if you haven’t, this is a violation of FMCSA AND DOT LAWS AND REGULATIONS. I paid $160 back then for a full panel, tested negative on hair then next week I was OTR, would have I not done my own test there’s possibility they would’ve done the same, false positive and end my carrier before it even started. Good luck!

I recently got my CDL and applied to my first trucking job, to my surprise I failed Schneider's hair follicle test even thought I paid for my own hair screening before just to make sure and came back negative. anyway I was sent home and am now applying to any trucking job I can get my hands on but most of them are now denying my application due to the report being filled on my DriverIQ website report. Is there anyway to get rid of this or fight this? will it be removed from my report with time? what is my best option or company that I should apply to or is my driving career over before I even started? I am extremely frustrated because Schneider didnt even let me explain my case or appeal it and sent me home immediately as if there's never false positives for hair tests ( which national average shows about 15% are false positive)

Also, “ Under 49 CFR Part 40, the FMCSA's regulations for drug and alcohol testing in the transportation industry only permit urine and oral fluid testing, and these must be screened and confirmed by HHS-certified laboratories. Hair testing, point-of-collection (POC) urine, POC oral fluid drug testing, or instant tests are not authorized.” And “ Clearinghouse: Only results of DOT drug or alcohol tests or refusals may be reported to the Clearinghouse”. Know your laws so you can fight these type of behaviors from unlawful reporting.

Jess

I recently got my CDL and applied to my first trucking job, to my surprise I failed Schneider's hair follicle test even thought I paid for my own hair screening before just to make sure and came back negative. anyway I was sent home and am now applying to any trucking job I can get my hands on but most of them are now denying my application due to the report being filled on my DriverIQ website report. Is there anyway to get rid of this or fight this? will it be removed from my report with time? what is my best option or company that I should apply to or is my driving career over before I even started? I am extremely frustrated because Schneider didnt even let me explain my case or appeal it and sent me home immediately as if there's never false positives for hair tests ( which national average shows about 15% are false positive)

Do not follow Jessica’s advice, because it’s terrible [armchair] advice. Hire a lawyer and fight this? Waste of your time and money. Schneider‘s expected revenue in 2025 is $2 billion. You or anyone who thinks they have lawyers who don’t know the law, and/or don’t know how to manipulate the law are kidding yourselves. Who are you? Someone who is going to have to admit to being a drug user, and who did stop using, and congratulations on that, but not so recently that the drugs aren’t still showing up in your system. This industry isn’t going anywhere. Stay clean, get gainful employment outside the trucking industry for the next three years, and then try again. Stay clean, stay gainfully employed, and you won’t have any issues becoming a truck driver, if that’s what you really want to do.

I agree with Pete completely.

There is a big difference between a DOT and Pre-Employment drug screen. Often times they are the same test, but other times they are not.

A DOT drug screen is required and any failure or refusal will be reported to the clearinghouse. That puts the driver in a prohibted status until certain requirements are satisfied. Alot of companies only conduct this test on drivers and do not use any other testing for pre-employment.

However, many companies many years ago started a trend of using hair folicle testing for pre-employment purposes in conjunction with the actual DOT drug test. These are perfectly legal and within a companies right to require. If a employee doesn’t wish to do it or fails it, then the company has the right to not hire that person.

Any issues with pre-employment or employment is up to companies if they report it to hire right, the company that supports DAC reports on drivers. That is a voluntary system companies can use, but not required to. It is sort of like a credit report regarding truck drivers.

If a failed or refused pre-employment drug test hits a DAC report that will be there for anyone running an inquiry to see. That will be a big red flag against a driver seeking employment. I’m not real sure how long it will remain there. I have not found much information regarding that, but rest assured it will be several years at least.

This "Jessica" person only signed in to Lazarus this old post and preach erroneous information. Any company can use nearly legitimate any reason to not hire you, including a hair follicle test. The hair test had been proven to indicate party drug use in the previous 90 days. If this was challengeable in a court, said company wouldn't do it.

Jessica says there's no "DOT requirement". But the FMCSA does have this to say:

... Including any consequences for a driver found to have a specified alcohol or controlled substances level, that are based on the employer's authority independent of this part. Any such additional policies or consequences must be clearly and obviously described as being based on the employer's independent authority.