[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 15 (Thursday, January 23, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 4058]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01011]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA-2001-11213, Notice No. 24]
Drug and Alcohol Testing: Determination of Minimum Random Testing
Rates for 2020
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notification of determination.
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SUMMARY: This notification of determination announces FRA's minimum
annual random drug and minimum annual random alcohol testing rates for
covered employees and for maintenance-of-way (MOW) employees for
calendar year 2020.
DATES: This determination takes effect January 23, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerald Powers, FRA Drug and Alcohol
Program Manager, W33-310, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone 202-493-6313); or Sam
Noe, FRA Drug and Alcohol Program Specialist, Federal Railroad
Administration (telephone 615-719-2951).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FRA is announcing the 2020 minimum annual
random drug and alcohol testing rates for covered service employees,
and the 2020 minimum annual random drug and alcohol testing rates for
MOW employees. For calendar year 2020, the minimum annual random
testing rates for covered service employees will continue to be 25
percent for drugs and 10 percent for alcohol, while the minimum annual
random testing rates for MOW employees will continue to be 50 percent
for drugs and 25 percent for alcohol.
To set its minimum annual random testing rates for each year, FRA
examines the last two complete calendar years of railroad industry drug
and alcohol program data submitted to its Management Information System
(MIS). The rail industry's random drug testing positive rate for
covered service employees (employees subject to the hours of service
laws and regulations) remained below 1.0 percent for 2017 and 2018. The
Administrator has therefore determined the minimum annual random drug
testing rate for the period January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020,
will remain at 25 percent for covered service employees. The industry-
wide random alcohol testing violation rate for covered service
employees remained below 0.5 percent for 2017 and 2018. Therefore, the
Administrator has determined the minimum random alcohol testing rate
will remain at 10 percent for covered service employees for the period
January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. Because these rates
represent minimums, railroads may conduct FRA random testing at higher
rates.
MOW employees became subject to FRA random drug and alcohol testing
in June 2017. The Administrator has determined that the minimum annual
random testing rates initially established for MOW employees will
remain in effect because FRA does not have MIS data for two consecutive
years that represents their industry-wide performance rates.
Specifically, MOW employees became subject to FRA random testing
effective June 12, 2017, and the resulting 2017 MIS data FRA received
reflected industry-wide MOW random testing rates that were below the
annual minimum rates of 50 percent (drugs) and 25 percent (alcohol) for
MOW employees. Therefore, for the period January 1, 2020, through
December 31, 2020, the minimum annual random drug testing rate will
continue to be 50 percent for MOW employees, and the minimum annual
random alcohol testing rate will continue to be 25 percent for MOW
employees. As with covered service employees, because these rates
represent minimums, railroads may conduct FRA random testing of MOW
employees at higher rates.
Issued in Washington, DC.
Ronald L. Batory,
Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-01011 Filed 1-22-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P