DOT- and Non-DOT Pool Settings

Use these settings to define how a random selection pool is created and maintained.

DOT Regulated Pool

If your company has both DOT-regulated and non-DOT services, specify whether the pool is a DOT-regulated random selection pool.

If your company has only DOT-regulated employees or only non-DOT employees, this option is pre-selected and cannot be changed.

If you try to create a DOT-regulated pool for a test type that already has an existing pool, Med-Stop prevents duplicate pool creation.

Description

You may enter a brief description of the pool. This field is optional.

Target Percentage

The Target Percentage is the main configuration setting for the pool. It determines how many random selections must be completed by the end of the calendar year.

The required number of selections is calculated based on the average number of pool members.

Example: If there are 100 pool members throughout the selection period and the target percentage is set to 20%, then 20 employees must be randomly selected for testing during the year.

For DOT-regulated pools, the target percentage is determined annually by the DOT. Your company must complete at least the number of random tests required by the DOT.

Current DOT minimum rates are:

• 50% for drug testing
• 10% for alcohol testing

These rates are updated yearly by the DOT. You may set higher percentages if required by company policy, but not lower than the DOT minimums.

Double Jeopardy Selection

This option is available only for non-DOT-regulated pools.

When set to YES, the system may select the same employee for both drug and alcohol testing at the same time.

Example: If an employee is randomly selected for a drug test, the system will also assign an alcohol test for the same date and time.

Selection Frequency

Specify how often random selections should occur during the calendar year.

For DOT-regulated pools, the selection frequency should be quarterly or more frequent.

Shorter selection periods allow more frequent recalculation of average employee counts and can reduce discrepancies between actual and required DOT averages.

Earliest Selection Date

This is the start date of the random selection process.

Typically, this is the date the pool is created, but you may schedule it to begin at a future date. The pool will not be recalculated until this date is reached.

Latest Selection Date

This is the final date on which a random selection can be generated or a test performed.

By default, this date is the last day of the current calendar year.

For DOT-regulated pools, do not move this date significantly earlier, as doing so may affect the calculation of the average number of employees and compliance with DOT requirements.

Add All Valid Employees to the Pool Members List

When set to YES, all employees matching the pool criteria (DOT or non-DOT regulation and employment status) are automatically added to the pool when it is created.

If set to NO, the pool member list remains empty, and you must manually assign employees.

Automatically Update Pool Members

This option allows the system to automatically synchronize the pool member list with your company’s employee records.

• If set to YES, newly eligible employees are automatically added.
• Employees who are terminated or removed are automatically removed from the pool.
• If set to NO, pool membership must be managed manually.

Manual management may be useful for non-DOT pools where testing applies only to certain departments or employee categories.

Include Employees with Status

Specify which employment statuses should be automatically included in the pool.

By default, all employees are included.

Example: If your company’s Owner Operators are members of another consortium and are tested separately, you may exclude that status to prevent automatic inclusion.

Skip Selections for Periods Before the Pool Start

This option is available only for DOT-regulated pools.

If a pool begins mid-year, decide whether selections should account for the entire calendar year or only the period after the pool start date.

• If set to NO, selections are based on the full target percentage and average member count.
• If set to YES, the required target percentage is reduced proportionally for the skipped periods.

DOT-regulated employers are permitted to skip selections for periods when the company was not yet DOT-regulated or did not exist.