[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14239-14240]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06225]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Prevention of Alcohol Misuse and Prohibited Drug Use in Transit
Operations
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of random drug and alcohol testing rates for 2015.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the 2015 random testing rates for
employers subject to the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) drug
and alcohol rules.
DATES: Effective Date: January 1, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Iyon Rosario, Drug and Alcohol Program
Manager for the Office of Transit Safety and Oversight, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: 202-366-2010 or email:
[email protected]).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 1, 1995, FTA required large
transit employers to begin drug and alcohol testing employees
performing safety-sensitive functions and submit annual reports by
March 15 of each year beginning in 1996. The annual report includes the
number of employees who had a verified positive for the use of
prohibited drugs, and the number of employees who tested positive for
the misuse of alcohol during the reported year. Small employers
commenced their FTA-required testing on January 1, 1996, and began
reporting the same information as the large employers beginning March
15, 1997. The testing rules were updated on August 1, 2001, and
established a random testing rate for prohibited drugs and the misuse
of alcohol.
The rules require 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. However, the rules provide 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 preceding
consecutive years. Once lowered, the random rates 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 49 CFR 655.45 plus the number of refusals of
random tests required by 49 CFR 655.49, divided by the total number of
random drug tests, plus the number of refusals of random tests required
by 49 CFR part 655).
The alcohol provisions provide the random rate may be lowered to 10
percent if the ``violation rate'' for the entire transit industry is
less than 0.5 percent for two consecutive years. It will remain at 25
percent if the ``violation rate'' is equal to or greater than 0.5
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 administered under 49 CFR 655.45 to have an alcohol
concentration of 0.04 or greater, plus the number of employees who
refuse a random test required by 49 CFR 655.49, divided by the total
reported number of random alcohol tests plus the total number of
refusals of random tests required by 49 CFR part 655).
Pursuant to 49 CFR 655.45(b), the Acting Administrator's decision
to increase or decrease the minimum annual percentage rate for random
drug and alcohol testing is based, in part, on the reported positive
drug and alcohol violation rates for the entire industry. The
information used for this determination is drawn from the drug and
alcohol Management Information System (MIS) reports required by 49 CFR
part 655. In determining the reliability of the data, the Acting
Administrator considers the quality and completeness of the reported
data, or may obtain additional information or reports from employers,
and make appropriate modifications in calculating the industry's
verified positive results and violation rates.
The Acting Administrator has determined that the random drug
testing rate will remain at 25 percent for 2015 due to a ``positive
rate'' lower than 1.0 percent for random drug test data for the two
preceding calendar years. The random drug rates for the two preceding
years are 0.74 percent for 2013 and 0.87 percent for 2014.
The Acting Administrator also has determined that the random
alcohol testing rate for 2015 will remain at 10 percent because the
random alcohol violation rate was again lower than 0.5 percent for the
two preceding consecutive years due. The random alcohol rates for the
two preceding years are 0.12 percent for 2013 and 0.14 percent for
2014.
Detailed reports on the FTA drug and alcohol testing data collected
from transit employers may be obtained from the FTA, Office of Transit
Safety and Oversight, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590,
(202) 366-2010
[[Page 14240]]
or at http://transit-safety.fta.dot.gov/publications/Default.aspx
Issued in Washington, DC, pursuant to authority under 49 CFR
1.91.
Therese McMillan,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2015-06225 Filed 3-17-15; 8:45 am]
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