SAP Project Planning & Execution 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: After completing the initial SAP evaluation, what is the SAP's first formal obligation to the employer?
- Provide a written report indicating the employee's need for assistance and any recommended education or treatment (Correct answer)
- Notify the MRO of the violation and await further instructions
- Schedule the employee's return-to-duty test immediately
- Submit the evaluation findings directly to the DOT
Correct answer: Provide a written report indicating the employee's need for assistance and any recommended education or treatment
Per 49 CFR Part 40.311, the SAP must provide a written report to the employer (via the DER) detailing the evaluation findings and recommended education or treatment before any return-to-duty steps occur.
Question 2: An employee referred to an SAP lives in a rural area with no local treatment providers. What should the SAP do?
- Waive the treatment requirement due to geographic hardship
- Identify the nearest available qualified providers and consider telehealth options where permitted (Correct answer)
- Recommend the employee self-manage recovery without formal treatment
- Refer the case to the DOT for special accommodation
Correct answer: Identify the nearest available qualified providers and consider telehealth options where permitted
The SAP must make a clinically sound referral; when local options are unavailable, seeking nearby providers or approved telehealth alternatives fulfills the obligation without waiving treatment.
Question 3: Which of the following actions by an employee would allow an SAP to proceed with a follow-up evaluation for return-to-duty?
- The employee self-reports that treatment is complete
- The employer states the employee has been performing well
- The employee provides documented evidence of completing the SAP-recommended education or treatment (Correct answer)
- The MRO confirms the employee's most recent drug test was negative
Correct answer: The employee provides documented evidence of completing the SAP-recommended education or treatment
The SAP conducts a follow-up evaluation only after the employee has complied with the prescribed education or treatment; documented evidence of completion is required before that evaluation.
Question 4: Under DOT regulations, the follow-up evaluation must determine which of the following before the SAP recommends return to safety-sensitive duty?
- That the employee has maintained sobriety for at least 12 months
- That the employee has successfully complied with the recommended education or treatment (Correct answer)
- That the employee's employer has approved their reinstatement
- That the employee has passed at least two negative drug tests
Correct answer: That the employee has successfully complied with the recommended education or treatment
49 CFR 40.311(b) requires the SAP to determine, during the follow-up evaluation, that the employee has successfully complied with the recommended education or treatment program.
Question 5: What is the minimum number of follow-up tests an SAP must recommend after an employee returns to safety-sensitive duty?
- 3 tests in 12 months
- 6 tests in 12 months (Correct answer)
- 2 tests in 6 months
- 4 tests in 24 months
Correct answer: 6 tests in 12 months
49 CFR 40.307 requires that the SAP recommend a minimum of 6 unannounced follow-up tests in the first 12 months following return to safety-sensitive duty.
Question 6: An employee refuses to follow the SAP's recommended treatment plan. What is the appropriate SAP action?
- Adjust the treatment plan to something the employee will accept
- Notify the employer that the employee has not complied and cannot be cleared for return to duty (Correct answer)
- Refer the matter to law enforcement
- Place the employee on a modified duty status pending compliance
Correct answer: Notify the employer that the employee has not complied and cannot be cleared for return to duty
If an employee refuses to comply with the SAP's treatment recommendations, the SAP informs the employer (via the DER) that the employee has not complied; the employee cannot be returned to safety-sensitive duty.
Question 7: When planning the return-to-duty process, what step must occur before an employee can take the return-to-duty drug or alcohol test?
- The employee must complete a mandatory waiting period of 90 days
- The SAP must have conducted the follow-up evaluation and recommended return to duty (Correct answer)
- The employer must obtain a new pre-employment authorization
- The MRO must conduct an independent evaluation
Correct answer: The SAP must have conducted the follow-up evaluation and recommended return to duty
The return-to-duty test can only be administered after the SAP has conducted the follow-up evaluation and issued a written report recommending the employee's return to safety-sensitive functions.
SAP Project Planning & Execution 2
After completing the initial SAP evaluation, what is the SAP's first formal obligation to the employer?