[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 14 (Friday, January 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 3859]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01222]


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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 2016.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the random testing rates for employers 
subject to the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) drug and alcohol 
rules for 2016.

DATES: Effective Date: January 1, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Iyon Rosario, Drug and Alcohol Program 
Manager for the Office of 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 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. However, 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 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 that 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 
.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 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 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 Administrator has determined the random drug testing rate will 
remain at 25 percent for 2016 due to an industry 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 
.87 percent for 2014 and .90 percent for 2015.
    The Administrator has also determined the random alcohol testing 
rate for 2016 will remain at 10 percent because the random alcohol 
violation rate for the industry was again lower than 0.5 percent for 
the two preceding consecutive years. The random alcohol rates for the 
two preceding years are 0.14 percent for 2014 and 0.14 percent for 
2015.
    Detailed reports on the FTA drug and alcohol testing data collected 
from transit employers may be obtained from the FTA, Office of Safety 
and Oversight, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, (202) 
366-2010 or at http://transit-safety.fta.dot.gov/publications/Default.aspx.

    Issued in Washington, DC, pursuant to authority under 49 CFR 
1.91.
Therese W. McMillan,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2016-01222 Filed 1-21-16; 8:45 am]
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