FTA Drug And Alcohol Regulation Updates

Issue 10

Introduction....

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) published its final rules on prohibited drug use (49 CFR Part 653) and the prevention of alcohol misuse (49 CFR Part 654) on February 15, 1994.  Shortly thereafter, the FTA published the Implementation Guidelines for Drug and Alcohol Regulations in Mass Transit to provide a comprehensive overview of the regulations. 

Since the Guidelines were published there have been numerous amendments, interpretations, and clarifications to the Drug and Alcohol testing procedures and program requirements.

This publication is being provided  to update the Guidelines and inform your transit system of all of these changes.  This Update is the tenth in a series.

Inside....

 Employers have Choice of MIS Report Format

All employers subject to FTA’s drug and alcohol testing regulations must file annual reports summarizing test results for Calendar Year 1998 by March 15, 1999.  Employers who submitted forms for 1997 were mailed a package of information and forms during the first week of January.   Rural systems may receive their reporting packages directly from their state Department of Transportation. 

The package includes reporting forms and instructions.  In addition, for the first time, the package also includes a diskette and directions for producing the reports electronically.  Each employer has the option to submit their information on the paper forms or on the diskette, but not both.

If you did not submit reports in 1997 or did not receive a 1998 reporting package, please contact the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center at (617) 494-6336.  You should also call this number if you need assistance in completing your report or if you have questions.  See the article on page 6 that describes the most common mistakes made when completing the forms.

Test Rates Remain the Same

Random testing rates for employers subject to FTA drug and alcohol testing rules (49 CFR Part 653 and Part 654) will remain at 50 percent for drug testing and ten percent for alcohol testing for calendar year 1999.  The rates were published in the December 14, 1998 Federal Register on pages 68818-68819.

The drug test rate was established based on the positive random rate experienced by the entire transit industry during the previous two years (1996 and 1997).  The positive rate is derived from information provided to FTA by individual employers on their annual MIS forms.  The rate is calculated by adding the positive tests to the number of refusals and dividing the total by the total number of random tests conducted and refused.  For both 1996 and 1997, the positive rate for random drug tests was in excess of one percent so the testing rate will remain at 50 percent.   The positive rate in 1997 was 1.21 percent, down from 1996 when the positive rate was 1.50 percent.

Similarly, the industry-wide violation rate for random alcohol tests is calculated by dividing the sum of the number of employees testing at 0.04 or greater and the number of test refusals by the sum of the total number of tests conducted and refused.  In 1996, the violation rate was 0.21 percent and  in 1997 the violation rate was 0.19 percent.  Since the rates for both years were below 0.5 percent, the alcohol random rate will remain at ten percent.