What is a Safety Sensitive Position?

A safety-sensitive position is a job in which the performance of workers can impact the safety of themselves and others. It’s a role where failure to do the job properly can lead to accident, injury, or even death.

Positions can include drivers, pilots, police officers, teachers, medical providers, pharmacists, security personnel, heavy equipment operators, nursing home workers, and daycare workers. These are all jobs where workers need to be alert and focused to prevent accidents and avoid harm to themselves, their coworkers, or the public.

Federal, state, and local law, as well as several federal agencies, specify which positions are safety-sensitive. These same rules also define the drug-testing requirements for the safety-sensitive positions. Employers need to be aware of these laws and regulations; they not only mandate drug testing requirements but also require employers to gather information about disabilities relevant to the job. Employers must glean this information without violating privacy or anti-discrimination laws.

However, the emphasis of these regulations is workplace drug testing. A person under the influence of drugs (or alcohol) in these jobs could cause someone to be injured or killed. The purpose of drug testing is to prevent drug use before and during work hours. Even in states where medical or recreational use of marijuana is legal, people in safety-sensitive positions are not permitted to work under its influence.

Some would argue that the current definition of safety-sensitive positions is inadequate because it addresses physical safety only. There are positions in which an impaired employee can cause financial, mental, emotional, and reputational damage. For example, if a person responsible for data security drops the ball, there could be a data breach that causes financial and emotional harm to thousands of customers.

What Determines if a Position is Safety Sensitive?

Safety-sensitive positions are defined by federal, state, and local law and also by agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Transit Authority (FTA), and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). While employees have some leeway in expanding their definition of safety-sensitive positions, they are restricted by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Regulating agencies have left some gaps. For example, some rules have suggested that ride-share drivers and municipal bus drivers are not in jobs defined as safety-sensitive. Many state legislatures have enacted laws to clarify the definitions and ensure such workers are included.

For employers to declare a position as safety-sensitive, they must be able to show that the individual's inability to adequately perform job-related tasks could constitute a direct physical threat to their own safety or to that of others.

Many employers limit drug testing to those positions that are explicitly defined as safety-sensitive or those that can cause physical injury.

While employers are limited in how broadly they can define safety-sensitive positions, there’s no reason they can’t implement drug-testing programs for an expanded scope of jobs. They might consider this testing not only for positions that pose a physical safety hazard but also those in which impaired performance can affect the security, finances and reputation of the company as well as that of its employees and customers.

While any drug-testing program must comply with federal, state and local law, employers have wide latitude as long as they apply rules in a way that does not discriminate against protected groups. They may certainly conduct drug tests based on positions. They may even vary testing frequency by position. For example, employees with access to customers’ personal information and financial data might be tested at a greater rate than those without that access. People with password access to sensitive computer systems might be tested with even higher frequency.

The Reason for Background Screenings for Safety Sensitive Positions

The vetting of applicants for safety-sensitive positions should include not only drug testing but also background screening. For example, a person with a history of serious driving violations such as DUIs is a poor candidate for a job operating a vehicle. Without background screening, an employer has only the applicant’s word that they have the qualifications they claim and do not have anything in their past that might compromise their ability to safely perform the job. The risk posed by substandard performance is much greater when the position is a safety-sensitive one.

Effective background screening is fair to all applicants while reducing the risk of accidents and diminishing the likelihood of workplace theft, harassment, and other misconduct. It helps employers select the most qualified individuals for safety-sensitive positions as well as all other positions. It protects the company’s reputation.

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