§ 654.55 - Access to facilities and records.

(a) Except as required by law or expressly authorized or required in this section, no employer shall release covered employee information that is contained in records required to be maintained under § 654.51.

(b) A covered employee is entitled, upon written request, to obtain copies of any records pertaining to the employee's use of alcohol, including any records pertaining to his or her alcohol tests. The employer shall promptly provide the records requested by the employee. Access to an employee's records shall not be contingent upon payment for records other than those specifically requested.

(c) Each employer shall permit access to all facilities utilized in complying with the requirements of this part to the Secretary of Transportation, any DOT agency with regulatory authority over the employer or any of its covered employees or to a State oversight agency authorized to oversee rail fixed guideway systems.

(d) Each employer shall make available copies of all results for employer alcohol testing conducted under this part and any other information pertaining to the employer's alcohol misuse prevention program, when requested by the Secretary of Transportation, or any DOT agency with regulatory authority over the employer or covered employee, or to a State oversight agency authorized to oversee rail fixed guideway systems.

(e) When requested by the National Transportation Safety Board as part of an accident investigation, employers shall disclose information related to the employer's administration of a post-accident alcohol test administered following the accident under investigation.

(f) Records shall be made available to a subsequent employer upon receipt of written request from the covered employee. Disclosure by the subsequent employer is permitted only as expressly authorized by the terms of the employee's request.

(g) An employer may disclose information required to be maintained under this part pertaining to a covered employee to the employee or the decisionmaker in a lawsuit, grievance, or other proceeding initiated by or on behalf of the individual, and arising from the results of an alcohol test administered under this part, or from the employer's determination that the employee engaged in conduct prohibited by subpart B of this part (including, but not limited to, a worker's compensation, unemployment compensation, or other proceeding relating to a benefit sought by the employee).

(h) An employer shall release information regarding a covered employee's records as directed by the specific, written consent of the employee authorizing release of the information to an identified person. Release of such information by the person receiving the information is permitted only in accordance with the terms of the employee's consent.