Prevention of Alcohol Misuse and Prohibited Drug Use in Transit Operations

• Published date: 23 January 2020
• Citation: 85 FR 4058
• Record Number: 2020-01071
• Section: Notices
• Court: Federal Transit Administration,Transportation Department

Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 15 (Thursday, January 23, 2020)

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 15 (Thursday, January 23, 2020)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 4058-4059]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2020-01071]
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                DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
                Federal Transit Administration
                Prevention of Alcohol Misuse and Prohibited Drug Use in Transit
                Operations
                AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.
                ACTION: Notice of calendar year 2020 random drug and alcohol testing
                rates.
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                SUMMARY: This notice announces the calendar year 2020 drug and alcohol
                random testing rates for employer's subject to 49 CFR part 655. The
                minimum random drug testing rate will remain at 50 percent and the
                random alcohol rate will remain at 10 percent.
                DATES: Applicable Date: January 1, 2020.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Iyon Rosario, Drug and Alcohol Program
                Manager in the Office of Transit Safety and Oversight, 1200 New Jersey
                Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: 202-366-2010 or email:
                [email protected]).
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 1, 1995, FTA required large
                transit employers to begin drug and alcohol testing employees
                performing safety-sensitive functions, and submit annual reports by
                March 15 of each year beginning in 1996 pursuant to drug and alcohol
                regulations adopted by FTA at 49 CFR parts 653 and 654 in February
                1994. The annual report includes the number of employees who had a
                verified positive for the use of
                [[Page 4059]]
                prohibited drugs, and the number of employees who tested positive for
                the misuse of alcohol during the reported year. Small employers
                commenced their FTA-required testing on January 1, 1996, and began
                reporting the same information as the large employers beginning March
                15, 1997.
                 The FTA updated the testing rules on August 1, 2001 (66 FR 42002)
                and maintained a random testing rate for prohibited drugs at 50 percent
                and the misuse of alcohol at 10 percent, which the Administrator may
                lower if the violation rates dropped below the thresholds set forth in
                49 CFR 665.45 for 2 consecutive years. Accordingly, based on the recent
                violation rates, in 2007, FTA reduced the random drug testing rate from
                50 percent to 25 percent (72 FR 1057, January 7, 2007). In 2018,
                however, FTA increased the random drug testing rate to 50 percent for
                calendar year 2019 based on verified industry data for calendar year
                2017, which showed the rate had exceeded 1 percent (83 FR 63812,
                December 12, 2018).
                 Pursuant to 49 CFR 655.45, the Administrator's decision to increase
                or decrease the minimum annual percentage rate for random drug and
                alcohol testing is based, in part, on the reported positive drug and
                alcohol violation rates for the entire public transportation industry.
                The information used for this determination is drawn from the drug and
                alcohol Management Information System (MIS) reports required by 49 CFR
                655.72. In determining the reliability of the data, the Administrator
                considers the quality and completeness of the reported data, or may
                obtain additional information or reports from employers, and make
                appropriate modifications in calculating the industry's verified
                positive results and violation rates.
                 For calendar year 2020, the Administrator has determined the random
                drug testing rate for covered employees will remain at 50 percent based
                on a verified positive rate of 1.17 percent for calendar year 2018.
                Further, the Administrator has determined the random alcohol testing
                rate for calendar year 2020 will remain at 10 percent because the
                violation rate again was lower than 0.5 percent for calendar years 2016
                and 2017. The random alcohol violation rates were 0.148 percent for
                2016 and 0.160 for 2017. Detailed reports on FTA's drug and alcohol
                testing data collected from transit employers may be obtained from FTA,
                Office of Transit Safety and Oversight, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
                Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366-2010 or at https://transit-safety.fta.dot.gov/DrugAndAlcohol/Publications/Default.aspx.
                 Issued in Washington, DC.
                K. Jane Williams,
                Acting Administrator.
                [FR Doc. 2020-01071 Filed 1-22-20; 8:45 am]
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