[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 6, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 418-419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-217]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
49 CFR Parts 653 and 654
Prevention of Prohibited Drug Use in Transit Operations;
Prevention of Alcohol Misuse in Transit Operations
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of random drug and alcohol testing rate.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the random testing rates for employers
[[Page 419]]
subject to the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) drug and alcohol
rules.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Judy Meade, Director of the Office of Safety and Security (202) 366-
2896 (telephone) and (202) 366-7951 (fax). Electronic access to this
and other documents concerning FTA's drug and alcohol testing rules may
be obtained through FTA's Transit Safety and Security Bulletin Board at
1-800-231-2061 or through the FTA World Wide Web home page at http://
www.fta.dot.gov; both services are available seven days a week.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
required large transit employers to begin drug and alcohol testing
``safety-sensitive'' employees on January 1, 1995, and to report,
annually by March 15 of each year beginning in 1996, the number of
``safety-sensitive'' employees who had a verified positive for the use
of prohibited drugs, and the number of safety-sensitive employees who
tested positive for the misuse of alcohol. Small employers started
testing their ``safety-sensitive'' employees on January 1, 1996, and
began reporting the same information as the large employers beginning
on March 15, 1997. Employers are required annually to submit other
data, not relevant here, in the same report; these data are available
from the FTA as discussed below.
The rules established a random testing rate for prohibited drugs
and the misuse of alcohol; specifically, the rules require that
employers conduct random drug tests at a rate equivalent to at least 50
percent of their total number of safety-sensitive employees for
prohibited drug use and at least 25 percent for the misuse of alcohol.
The rules provide that the drug random testing rate may be lowered to
25 percent if the ``positive rate'' for the entire transit industry is
less than one percent for two consecutive years. Once lowered, it may
be raised to 50 percent if the positive rate equals or exceeds one
percent for any one year. (``Positive rate'' means the number of
positive results for random drug tests conducted under part 653 plus
the number of refusals of random tests required by part 653, divided by
the total number of random drug tests, plus the number of refusals of
random tests required by part 653.)
Likewise, the alcohol rule provides that the random rate may be
lowered to 10 percent if the ``violation rate'' for the entire transit
industry is less than .5 percent for two consecutive years. It will
remain at 25 percent if the ``violation rate'' is equal to or greater
than .5 percent but less than one percent, and it will be raised to 50
percent if the ``violation rate'' is one percent or greater for any one
year. (``Violation rate'' means the number of covered employees found
during random tests given under part 654 to have an alcohol
concentration of .04 or greater, plus the number of employees who
refuse a random test required by part 654, divided by the total
reported number of random alcohol tests conducted under part 654, plus
the total number of refusals of random tests, required by part 654.)
FTA has received and analyzed the 1996 data from large and small
transit employers. The ``positive rate'' for random drug tests was 1.5
percent and the ``violation rate'' for random alcohol tests was 0.21
percent; therefore, for 1998, transit employers will continue to be
required to conduct random drug tests at a rate equivalent to at least
50 percent of the total number of their ``safety-sensitive'' employees
for prohibited drugs. Because the random alcohol violation rate was
lower than .5 percent for two consecutive years (0.24 percent for 1995
and 0.21 percent for 1996), the random alcohol testing rate will
lowered to 10 percent for 1998.
FTA will be publishing in December a detailed report on the 1996
data collected from large and small employers. This report may be
obtained from the Office of Safety and Security, Federal Transit
Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Room 9301, Washington, DC
20590, (202) 366-2896.
Issued: December 31, 1997.
Gordon J. Linton,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 98-217 Filed 1-5-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-M
