The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation) is cracking down on Ontario cross-border commercial vehicle drivers holding non-commercial Class G licences who have not had pre-licensing and periodic commercial driver’s medical exams.

DriverCheck’s Medical Director and Chief Medical Review Officer Dr. Barry Kurtzer was recently featured in a Canadian HR Reporter story on medical marijuana in the workplace. With medical marijuana use expected to increase substantially over the next decade, this story examines the new federal regulations around medical marijuana and outlines best practices for employers dealing with employees in safety sensitive positions who have authorization to use marijuana for medical purposes.

KITCHENER, ON – It took 35 years, but Lucian Stoica’s dream of owning a Harley Davidson motorcycle has come true with the dragster appearing in his driveway earlier this month.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Stoica said in disbelief when he walked outside his house and saw the 2015 Harley Davidson Softail Breakout.

The Drug & Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA) and the oil and gas industry are developing global guidelines for contractor drug and alcohol testing programs and DriverCheck has been asked to participate in the process.

“It will be our role to provide input from a Medical Review Officer perspective,” says Dr. Barry Kurtzer, DriverCheck’s Medical Director and Chief Medical Review Officer.

DriverCheck is pleased to announce Shannon Jacobi, the Manager of our Remote Medical Services, is now the President-Elect of the Alberta Occupational Health Nurses Association.

Shannon was elected during the AOHNA’s annual general meeting at the association’s Symposium in Banff on May 30th. She will take over the position next year.

We are pleased to announce that DriverCheck has provided the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) with an official comment on its proposed rule to establish a drug and alcohol testing clearinghouse.

The proposed clearinghouse is a database under the FMCSA’s administration that will contain controlled substances (drug) and alcohol test result information for the holders of commercial driver’s licenses who are subject to DOT regulated testing.

The majority of a 3-member arbitration board in Alberta has ruled a random testing standard for unionized Suncor employees in safety sensitive at its operations in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) “in its present form” is unreasonable. In the ruling, board chair Tom Hodges says Suncor didn’t have enough evidence to prove there is a “significant” alcohol or drug problem within its bargaining unit, or a legitimate safety risk to warrant such a program.

A recent DriverCheck survey has found many employers in the Oil Sands are preparing for a decision expected soon in an outstanding arbitration case on random alcohol and drug testing in Alberta.

In a poll of about 400 DriverCheck clients operating in Alberta, approximately 44 percent of respondents identifying themselves as owner companies say they intend to implement a random testing program in the future, with over half of those companies planning to do so within 3 months to a year.

A newly certified testing facility in Edmonton could potentially improve DriverCheck’s turnaround times on negative lab-based test results for our clients in Alberta.

Gamma-Dynacare, DriverCheck’s designated drug testing laboratory, received certification this month from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide toxicology screening services at its laboratory in Edmonton, and the laboratory is now listed on the U.S. Federal Register as an HHS-Certified Instrumented Initial Testing Facility.