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A few crashes and one landmark act quietly rewired American workplaces: safety-sensitive jobs needed real guardrails. We sit down with Bill Current—consultant, author, and longtime industry leader—to map how drug testing grew from crisis response to a complex, compliance-driven system that still protects people today. From the Exxon Valdez era to the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act, Bill explains why DOT rules became the blueprint for nearly every strong program and how that foundation still shapes policy, training, and defensibility.
We dig into the real maze employers face now: thousands of state statutes, regulations, and court decisions layered with fast-changing marijuana laws. Can you still test for cannabis? Yes—but what you can do with a positive depends on where you operate and how the test detects use. We get practical on policy architecture for single-state and multi-state employers, the power of addendums, and when DOT preemption overrides restrictive state language. Then we turn to oral fluid testing—why parent-THC detection, shorter windows, and on-site collections make it a game changer for post-accident and reasonable suspicion cases.
Bill also pulls back the curtain on the DOT Legends, a new resource channeling former federal and modal leaders to give employers and TPAs rapid, authoritative answers on Clearinghouse rules, audits, and complex compliance questions. The throughline is clear: abandoning testing is a risky bet as post-accident positivity rises and liability expands. Smarter testing—faster, targeted, and legally sound—wins. If you care about safety, cost, and culture, this conversation gives you the roadmap: update your policy, train supervisors well, consider oral fluid for recent use, and secure reliable compliance support.
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