The current list of DHHS certified labs is published the first week of each month and is printed in the Federal Register under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) heading. Only those labs certified can be used for FTA drug testing. The list should be checked monthly as new labs are being added and others are being removed.

Website location: http://
www.workplace.samhsa.gov/
ResourceCenter/lablist.htm

To verify the certification status of a laboratory, DHHS has established a telephone HELPLINE (800) 843-4971.

   The FTA drug and alcohol regulation (49 CFR Part 655) requires that all covered employers include the consequences for a positive test result or test refusal in their policy. At a minimum, the regulation requires all safety-sensitive employees who violate the rule be immediately removed from their position, and be referred for evaluation by a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP). Any further action (e.g., suspension, termination) taken against the employee is left up to the discretion of the employer, consistent with the law.
   An employer’s decision to be zero tolerant, second chance or a hybrid of the two is based on many factors including collective bargaining agreements, investment in personnel development including training costs, workforce availability, employer size, liability concerns, corporate philosophy, and anticipated recidivism rates, to name a few. This decision is complicated and has far reaching implications. Of all the factors considered, as an industry, we know the least factual information about recidivism, leaving decision makers to make their decisions based on speculation and limited knowledge.
   An employer’s SAP or local rehabilitation and treatment facilities may provide insights into recidivism rates that correspond to specific programs, but little is known about the experience of transit systems that are covered by the FTA drug and alcohol regulation. FTA has determined that this information would be beneficial to the transit industry to aid employers making informed decisions. Since most covered employers have had their testing programs, return-to-duty, and follow up testing procedures in place for over ten years, FTA believes that there is now sufficient experience from which to draw.
   Consequently, in the first week of February, FTA will solicit information on recidivism experience through an electronic questionnaire administered via the FTA website. All employers in the FTA drug and alcohol program database will be sent a notice with directions on how to access and complete the questionnaire. The questionnaire will contain questions on the following topics:

• System information (i.e., size, geographic location, type of service);
• Contractor versus directly operated service;
• Unionization;
• Employer’s type of policy (e.g., zero tolerance, second chance, other);
• Consequences for non-negative test results;
• Demographics of employee;
• SAP evaluation process and timeline;
• Extent, scope and frequency of rehabilitation, treatment and aftercare programs utilized;
• Return-to-duty process;
• Follow-up testing procedures including duration and frequency;
• Numbers of employees provided a second chance and percent having a second non-negative test results;
• Experience rates by classification of employee, classification of drug and/or alcohol, treatment program, and frequency and duration of follow-up testing program;
• Characteristics of second positive test (i.e., span of time between first and second positive, same or different substance, extent of participation in after care program);
• Other relevant information