Published: August 09, 2025
Author: Excel Screen Compliance Team

The Designated Employer Representative (DER) is the linchpin of a carrier’s DOT drug and alcohol testing program. This person receives test results, removes drivers from safety-sensitive duties when required, coordinates random selections, and ensures records are audit-ready. Because so much rides on the DER’s decisions and timing, structured training is one of the highest-value investments a carrier can make.

What a DER must know:
• Roles and authority: What a DER can and must do under DOT rules, how results flow from collectors and MROs, and when to remove a driver from duty.
• Random program mechanics: How drivers are placed in the pool, how selections are made, how and when to notify a driver, and what “immediate” testing means in practice.
• Reasonable suspicion and post-accident: When testing is required, how supervisor determinations are documented, and how the DER coordinates logistics without delay.
• Recordkeeping: What documents to keep, how to organize them, and how long to retain them so an audit is straightforward.
• Clearinghouse fundamentals: Employer registration, driver consent and queries, and reporting responsibilities. Even if others help, the DER should understand these processes end-to-end.

Common pitfalls DER training helps prevent:
• Missed or late randoms because the roster, notification steps, or backup procedures weren’t clear.
• Role confusion that delays removals from safety-sensitive work or mishandles refusals.
• Documentation gaps that complicate audits and corrective action.
• Clearinghouse errors such as missed pre-employment or annual queries, or uncertainty about what must be reported and by whom.

A simple DER readiness checklist:
• Named DER and at least one trained backup DER.
• Current driver roster synced with the random pool before each selection.
• Written notification script and same-day escalation steps for drivers who are hard to reach.
• Clear playbooks for reasonable suspicion and post-accident testing, including where to send the driver and who confirms completion.
• Organized records (notifications, chain of custody forms, results, MRO reports, and program documentation) indexed by driver and date.
• Clearinghouse access to run pre-employment and annual queries and documenting driver consent.

Where Excel Screen fits in
Excel Screen provides DOT drug and alcohol testing and manages compliant random selections through our consortium, helping your DER’s stay on schedule with selections, notifications, and collections. We will also be offering DER Training through our platform soon!