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Where To Find?.....
49 CFR Part 655, Prevention of Alcohol Misuse and Prohibited Drug Use
in Transit Operations
August 9, 2001
Federal Register Vol. 66
Pages 41996 - 42036
December 31, 2003
Federal Register Vol. 68
Pages 75455-75466
Primary Topic: One Page MIS Form
January 9, 2007
Federal Register Vol. 72
Pages 1057-1058
Primary Topic: Revised Testing Rates
Notice of Interpretation:
April 22, 2002
Federal Register Vol. 67,
Pages 19615-19616
Primary Topic: FTA/USCG regulation applicability to ferry boats.
The information presented on this page should be used to update
Chapters 4 and 5 of the revised Implementation Guidelines.
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2007 National Drug-Free Work Week
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has established
October 14 – 20, 2007 as Drug-Free
Work Week. The purpose of the annual campaign is “to educate employers,
employees and the general public about the importance of being drug-free
as an essential component of a safe and healthful workplace.” All employers and
employees are encouraged to actively participate and to implement activities and
business practices that promote safer, healthier workplaces and encourage
workers with alcohol and drug problems to seek help. Drug-Free
Work Week provides the opportunity to highlight activities that should be
ongoing throughout the year.
The following suggestions are provided for transit employers and employees
participating in the campaign.
- Promote your Drug-Free
Workplace Program—Use this opportunity to remind your employees that you
have a drug-and alcohol-free workplace. Update, display, and distribute informational materials about the
effects of drugs and alcohol to every covered employee. Materials such as
posters, brochures, and fact sheets can be obtained from the National
Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) at
http://ncadi.samhsa.gov. Update materials placed on bulletin boards and in
break areas or other locations frequented by employees. Focusing attention
on your drug-and alcohol-free
workplace during this week can also help you meet the ongoing education
program requirements of the Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988.
- Provide Refresher Training for Supervisors—Even though supervisors are
only required to have reasonable suspicion training one time, standard
industry practice is to provide periodic refresher training. Drug-Free
Work Week provides a good opportunity to remind supervisors how to make
reasonable suspicion determinations, how to deal with safety-sensitive
employees who have performance problems and how to refer employees to
available assistance.
- Educate Employees—The focus on Drug-Free
Work Week also provides you with the opportunity to review your Drug and
Alcohol Testing Policy with all of your employees and conduct training
sessions or safety meetings on the negative impact that drug and alcohol use
has on safety in the workplace, productivity, and customer relations.
- Remind Employees of Available Assistance—If you have an Employer
Assistance Program or if your insurance program has a wellness component,
use this opportunity to remind employees of how these services can be
accessed. Also advise employees of available community treatment resources
and hotline numbers.
- Feature Drug-Free
Work Week in Your Employee Communications—Include information about Drug-Free
Work Week in your employee newsletter, e-mails,
and other employee announcements.
- Distribute Payroll Stuffers—Produce a leaflet, brochure, or letter that
reminds employees of your drug and alcohol policy, methods for self-referral
(if applicable), and management commitment to creating and maintaining a
drug-and
alcohol-free
workplace.
For more ideas on how to recognize Drug-Free
Work Week, go to the DOL’s website at http://www.dol.gov/asp. And remember, in transit, every week is Drug-and Alcohol-Free
Week!
On-Call Employee Pre-Duty Alcohol Use
All safety-sensitive
transit system employees are prohibited (49 CFR Part 655.33) from consuming
alcohol within four hours of performing a safety-sensitive
duty. Consumption of alcohol by a covered employee who is on-call
is also prohibited. However, in an on-call
situation, the employer must give the covered employee the opportunity to
acknowledge the use of alcohol at the time he/she is called to report for duty.
If the employee has consumed alcohol and is unable to perform his or her
safety-sensitive
function, he/she should not report for duty. In the event the covered employee
has acknowledged the use of alcohol, but claims the ability to perform his/her
duties and reports to work, the employer must administer a reasonable suspicion
test. For these tests, the collector should remark on the Alcohol Test Form
(ATF) that the type of test being given is “on-call
employee with acknowledged pre-duty
alcohol use.” The “reason for test” on the ATF should be marked as “reasonable
suspicion” and reported as such in the drug and alcohol MIS. A trained
supervisor is also required to make and document a contemporaneous observation
concerning the signs and symptoms of alcohol misuse before sending the employee
for the test. |