Your enrollment must be under the company program of one marine employer, not on an individual basis. This means, if you work on a company’s vessel, you must be enrolled under that company’s drug testing program.
This affects the following people:
If you work as a captain/crewmember on a vessel for a marine company that has its own program and you are enrolled/or seeking to enroll separately from them; or
If you are an independent or freelance captain/crewmember that works for one or more marine companies throughout the year,
Questions:
What action should I take now?
You should immediately contact one of the employers you work for, and ask to be enrolled in Maritime through them. From now on, the notifications of random testing, test results, and all paperwork will go to the company, not directly to you. You can also call Maritime for us to help. You should then discontinue your individual/separate consortium membership after confirming you are enrolled in the company’s program. If you are self-employed with your own vessel(s) and never work for other companies, this change does not apply to you.
What regulations specify this?
These regulations, which took effect August 1, 2001, allow consortiums to provide drug and alcohol testing compliance services, but a consortium is not an “employer” under the new rules [49CFR40.3], and is prohibited from having a blanket agreement to distribute test results among multiple employers for whom that employee works [49CFR40.351]. The Coast Guard rule states “employers must ensure that they and their crewmembers meet the requirements…Employers are responsible for all the actions of their officials, representatives, and agents in carrying out the requirements” [46 CFR 16.203]. Also, “Marine employers shall establish programs for the chemical testing for dangerous drugs on a random basis of crewmembers….” [46 CFR 16.230]. Also see the Maritime document “Consortiums are not employers under the new DOT rules” – October 2001” For More information click here.
Questions: Please call Maritime at 800-775-6985
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