[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 229 (Thursday, November 30, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 83597]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26347]


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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 calendar year 2024 random drug and alcohol testing 
rates.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the calendar year 2024 drug and alcohol 
random testing rates for specific recipients of FTA financial 
assistance. The minimum random drug testing rate will remain at 50 
percent, and the random alcohol testing rate will remain at 10 percent.

DATES: Applicability Date: January 1, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Iyon Rosario, Drug and Alcohol Program 
Manager in 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 of employees 
performing safety-sensitive functions, and to submit annual reports by 
March 15 of each year beginning in 1996, pursuant to drug and alcohol 
regulations adopted by FTA at 49 CFR parts 653 and 654 in February 
1994. The annual report includes the number of employees who had a 
verified positive test 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 the required testing on 
January 1, 1996, and began reporting the same information as the large 
employers beginning March 15, 1997.
    FTA updated the testing rules by merging them into a new 49 CFR 
part 655, effective August 1, 2001 (66 FR 42002). The regulation 
maintained a random testing rate for prohibited drugs at 50 percent and 
the misuse of alcohol at 10 percent. The Administrator may lower the 
random testing rate to 25 percent if the violation rates drop below 1.0 
percent for drug testing and 0.5 percent for alcohol testing for two 
consecutive years. Accordingly, in 2007, FTA reduced the random drug 
testing rate from 50 percent to 25 percent (72 FR 1057). In 2018, 
however, FTA returned the random drug testing rate to 50 percent for 
calendar year 2019 based on verified industry data for calendar year 
2017, which showed that the rate had exceeded 1 percent (83 FR 63812).
    Pursuant to 49 CFR 655.45, the Administrator's decision to 
determine 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 public transportation industry. 
The information used for this determination is drawn from the Drug and 
Alcohol Management Information System (MIS) reports required by 49 CFR 
655.72. To ensure the reliability of the data, the Administrator must 
consider the quality and completeness of the reported data, may obtain 
additional information or reports from employers, and may make 
appropriate modifications in calculating the industry's verified 
positive results and violation rates.
    For calendar year 2024, the Administrator has determined that the 
minimum random drug testing rate for covered employees will remain at 
50 percent based on a verified positive rate for prohibited drug use of 
1.09 percent for calendar year 2022 and 0.99 percent for calendar year 
2021. Further, the Administrator has determined that the minimum random 
alcohol testing rate for calendar year 2024 will remain at 10 percent, 
because the violation rate again was lower than 0.5 percent for 
calendar years 2022 and 2021. The random alcohol violation rates were 
0.18 percent for 2022 and 0.13 for 2021.
    Detailed reports on FTA's drug and alcohol testing data collected 
from transit employers may be obtained from FTA, Office of Transit 
Safety and Oversight, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, 20590, 
(202) 366-2010, or at: https://transit-safety.fta.dot.gov/DrugAndAlcohol/Publications/Default.aspx.

Nuria I. Fernandez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2023-26347 Filed 11-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P