Summary

On August 18, 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST), issued a Public Interest Exclusion that ordered Elizabeth Pope to cease all operations with the Department for a period of five years. OST initiated this action following the debarment order issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Pope formerly operated Eastgate Laboratory Testing, a FMCSA regulated drug testing firm. 

Previously, in December 2014, Pope was sentenced to eight months house arrest and ordered to pay $109,000 in restitution for her conviction related to the falsification of FMCSA regulated drug and alcohol testing of commercial vehicle operators. Eastgate administered drug tests that included pre-employment, random, and post-accident testing. The investigation determined that between 2008 and 2012, Pope illicitly used the computer-generated signature of a doctor who had previously served as Eastgate's Medical Review Officer on required FMCSA paperwork. Pope admitted to falsifying the FMCSA-regulated drug testing documents to give the impression that all tests received the necessary oversight and review. The doctor used by Pope ceased doing business with Eastgate in 2005.

The Public Interest Exclusion prohibits employers from using Pope or Eastgate for a period of five years. In addition, Pope must inform all parties that were affected by the fraudulent test results. 

Note:  This Public Interest Exclusion will expire on August 18, 2020.