FAA: 14 CFR Part 121 and DOT 49 CFR Part 40

The FAA drug and alcohol testing regulations do not apply when an individual self-discloses a substance abuse problem to his/her employer before a violation of the regulations has occurred. As a result of such a disclosure, there are no specific tests or processes required under the regulations. Any testing or action that may occur as a result must be done under a company's authority and policy independent of the regulations.
If, however, an employee self-reports a substance abuse problem after being notified of an FAA-mandated test, the employee must be tested. Failure to do so will result in a refusal, which has serious consequences.
Please be aware that if this individual holds a Part 67 medical certificate issued by the FAA, there are further requirements for the airman to return to duty. Under this circumstance, the airman must contact their local Regional Flight Surgeon for further information.

Yes. A flight instructor who provides instruction in a flight simulator qualifies as a safety-sensitive function when the instruction is provided to individuals that perform directly or by contract (including subcontractor at any tier) for a Part 119 certificate holder who is authorized to operate under Parts 121 and/or 135 and sightseers operating under 91.147.
Flight instruction duties have been considered a safety-sensitive function since the inception of the drug testing program. Although individuals that conduct ground instruction are not subject to the drug and alcohol testing regulations; we do consider simulator flight instruction a safety-sensitive function. Simulator flight instructors are responsible for making evaluations regarding the trainees' performance and judgment. Therefore, we consider simulator flight instruction a safety-sensitive function that must be subject to drug and alcohol testing.

No, no form of in-flight notification may be used to notify pilots and flight attendants of random testing. According to FAA's drug and alcohol testing regulations, an employer shall require that random testing is unannounced and each safety-sensitive employee who is notified of selection for random drug testing to proceed to the collection site immediately. The opportunity to report for testing immediately does not exist while in-flight; therefore, the use of in-flight notification is considered advance notification and is not permitted under our regulations.
Additionally, FAA stated in the preamble to the January 12, 2004 Final Rule (69 Federal Register, Page 1848) that "such advance notification is inherently unfair because pilots and flight attendants are only two of the eight categories of safety-sensitive employees. In other words, six categories of employees are not accessible by the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) advance notification. In addition to the unfairness issue, ACARS advance notification has been linked, through enforcement cases, to dilutions, substitutions, and adulterations. ACARS notification could provide the employee with an opportunity to consume large quantities of fluid immediately before the test, which may dilute the specimen. Also, ACARS notification could provide the employee with an opportunity to substitute a specimen or to obtain access to adulterants to subvert the testing process."

Yes, because the testing is being performed to a standard required by the manufacturer or other standards acceptable to or approved by the Federal Aviation Administrator. The testing standard may be part of an inspection requirement in the technical data being used in the testing process.

The FAA's drug and alcohol testing regulations (14 CFR Part 121, Appendices I and J) establish the requirements for training both safety-sensitive employees and supervisors who will make reasonable cause/suspicion testing determinations.
The training requirements for a drug testing program are found in 14 CFR Part 121, Appendix I, Section VIII, B., Employee Assistance Program. It states that each employer shall implement initial training for employees and that such training must include the effects and consequences of drug use on personal health, safety, and work environment; the manifestations and behavioral cues that may indicate drug use and abuse; and documentation that the training was given to employees and employer's supervisory personnel.
In addition to the employee training, each employer must implement initial and recurrent supervisory training for personnel who will determine when an employee is subject to testing based on reasonable cause. The training must include specific, contemporaneous physical, behavioral, and performance indicators of probable drug use. Employers must ensure that supervisors who will make reasonable cause determinations receive at least 60 minutes of initial training and receive reasonable recurrent training. Although a timeframe for reasonable recurrent training is not defined, we believe that it is a best practice to conduct the recurrent training on a
12-18 month schedule.
The training requirements for an alcohol testing program are found in 14 CFR Part 121, Appendix J, Section VI. These requirements are slightly different than those found in a drug testing program. Specifically, each employer shall provide educational materials that explain the alcohol misuse requirements and the employer's policies and procedures with respect to meeting those requirements. Please refer to the regulation for further requirements for distribution and content of the educational materials.
Supervisors who make reasonable suspicion determinations for alcohol testing must receive at least 60 minutes of training on the physical, behavioral, speech, and performance indicators of probable alcohol misuse. Although the regulations do not specifically require recurrent training, we believe the best practice is to implement a recurrent training program that is similar to the one required for supervisors who make reasonable cause determinations for drug testing.

Yes. The regulations require each employer to ensure that any employee who performs a safety-sensitive function within the territory of the United States, directly or by contract (including by subcontract at any tier) is subject to drug and alcohol testing. This includes full-time, part-time, temporary, and intermittent employees regardless of the degree of supervision.
As a result, prior to hiring or transferring an individual to perform a safety-sensitive function (including a mechanic performing maintenance and preventative duties) wholly or partially within the territory of the United States, each employer must first conduct a pre-employment test and receive a verified negative drug test for that individual prior to the hire or transfer. At that point the individual is added to the random pool and subject to all of the requirements of the drug and alcohol testing regulations. Note: Partially would mean that the employee works within the territory of the United States at some degree, i.e., one day, a month or a year.

Yes. To do this, you need to submit a contractor registration directly to the Drug Abatement Division.
Your first step is to complete a registration form, attach a list of the repair stations that you are covering, and send it to the Drug Abatement Division address shown on the form. If you need any assistance with registration, please contact us at (202) 267-8442.
Once you receive your registration number from our office, take the next step and immediately contact your respective FAA Principal Maintenance Inspector (PMI) and request that each repair station's A449 drug and alcohol paragraph is annotated with an 'A2' in the telephone field. Making this change to your Part 145s' Operations Specifications will allow our office to see that you are operating a combined testing program that includes the employees for all of your repair stations.
Once the above steps have been accomplished, all safety-sensitive employees for each of your certificates will be covered by your contractor testing program, with one pre-employment test, one random pool, one designated employer representative, one training program, etc. You must ensure that any inquiries regarding coverage under the drug and alcohol testing regulations for any of your repair stations' safety-sensitive employees are referred to the program manager for the contractor registration.

No. The DOT drug and alcohol testing regulations (49 CFR Part 40) apply to transportation employers who are regulated by federal agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA has additional regulations (14 CFR Part 121, Appendices I and J) that define specific drug and alcohol testing requirements for the aviation industry. Therefore, an individual's participation in a DOD testing program, or that of any other federal agency, would not satisfy FAA's drug and alcohol testing requirements.

The FAA's drug and alcohol testing regulations (14 CFR Part 121, Appendices I and J) require any Part 119 certificate holder who is authorized to operate under Parts 121 and/or 135 to ensure that any person who performs safety-sensitive functions (e.g., maintenance or preventive maintenance), directly or by contract (including by subcontract at any tier), is subject to drug and alcohol testing. When hiring by contract, the air carrier must either: (1) cover the contractor's safety-sensitive employees under its FAA drug and alcohol testing program; or (2) ensure that the contractor has implemented its own FAA drug and alcohol testing program.
If the air carrier chooses the latter option, obtaining a copy of the contractor's FAA drug and alcohol testing program registration or its A449 paragraph from the Operations Specifications would suffice as proof that the contactor has chosen to implement a FAA drug and alcohol testing program. If the air carrier still has doubts as to whether the contractor has actually implemented a testing program, it has the option of asking the contractor some general questions regarding its program. Depending on the answers, it should be obvious if they have implemented a program. For example, they should be able to answer questions such as "how often do they conduct a random sample, where are their collection sites located, etc.?"
The release of any confidential information, as prescribed by the regulations, is prohibited.

According to FAA's drug and alcohol testing regulations (14 CFR Part 121, Appendices I & J), an employer (i.e., a Part 119 certificate holder with authority to operate under parts 121 and/or 135, an operator as defined in 14 CFR § 91.147, or an air traffic control facility not operated by FAA or under contract to the U.S. Military) or a contractor, who chooses to implement its own testing program, must ensure that any employee performing the following safety-sensitive functions directly or by contract (including subcontract at any tier) are subject to drug and alcohol testing:

flight crewmember duties
flight attendant duties
flight instruction duties
aircraft dispatcher duties
aircraft maintenance and preventive maintenance duties
ground security coordinator duties
aviation screening duties
air traffic control duties

The individuals who are performing these safety-sensitive functions must be subject to pre-employment testing, reasonable suspicion/cause testing, random testing, return-to-duty, follow-up, and post-accident. The testing procedures are established in the Department of Transportation's Workplace Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs, Title 49 CFR Part 40.
When developing your drug and alcohol testing program, you must:
First obtain the applicable Operations Specifications paragraph or drug and alcohol testing program registration as described in 14 CFR Part 121, Appendix I, Section IX and Appendix J, Section VII.
Ensure that no one is hired for or transferred into a safety-sensitive function without first being pre-employment drug tested and receiving a negative test result. More information regarding pre-employment testing may be found in 14 CFR Part 121,
Appendix I, Section V, A. Pre-employment alcohol testing is not required, however, it may be implemented according to Appendix J, Section III, A.
Educate and train your employees on the effects and consequences of drug abuse and alcohol misuse. More information regarding training and materials may be found in 14 CFR Part 121, Appendix I, Section VIII and Appendix J, Section VI.
Ensure that employees are placed into the random drug and alcohol testing pool and have an equal chance of being tested each time selections are made. More information regarding random testing may be found in 14 CFR Part 121, Appendix I, Section V, B and Appendix J, Section III, C.
There are many more requirements of the drug and alcohol testing regulations. It is important to understand that some requirements must be implemented prior to commencing operations.

Yes. According to Section V.C. in Appendix I and Section III.B. in Appendix J of 14 CFR Part 121, the employer must drug and alcohol test the employee if that employee's performance either contributed to an accident or cannot be completely discounted as a contributing factor to the accident.
It is important to be aware of the time limits in which these tests must be performed. The employee must be tested as soon as possible, but for drug testing, no later than 32 hours after the accident and for alcohol testing, no later than 8 hours after the accident.

The FAA's drug and alcohol testing regulations (14 CFR part 121, appendices I and J) describe when an employer is required to conduct and when an employee must submit to post-accident drug and/or alcohol testing.
As soon as practicable following an accident, each employer must test each surviving safety-sensitive employee for the presence of marijuana, cocaine, opiates, phencyclidine (PCP), and amphetamines, or a metabolite of those drugs in the employee's system, and for alcohol, if that employee's performance either contributed to the accident or cannot be completely discounted as a contributing factor to the accident.
For post-accident drug testing, the employee must be tested as soon as possible but not later than 32 hours after the accident.
For post-accident alcohol testing, the employee must be tested as soon as possible butcannot exceed 8 hours from time of accident. If a test is not administered within 2 hours following the accident, the employer must prepare and maintain on file a record stating the reasons the test was not promptly administered. If a test is not administered within 8 hours following the accident, the employer must cease attempts to administer an alcohol test and must prepare and maintain the same record.
The decision not to administer a test must be based on the employer's determination, using the best information available at the time of the determination that the employee's performance could not have contributed to the accident.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) define an accident an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and all such persons have disembarked, AND in which any person suffers death or serious injury or in which the aircraft receives substantial damage. The NTSB regulations (49 CFR part 830) define "serious injury" and "substantial damage" as follows:
"Serious injury means any injury which: (1) Requires hospitalization for more than 48 hours, commencing within 7 days from the date of the injury was received; (2) results in a fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of fingers, toes, or nose); (3) causes severe hemorrhages, nerve, muscle, or tendon damage; (4) involves any internal organ; or (5) involves second- or third-degree burns, or any burns affecting more than 5 percent of the body surface."
"Substantial damage means damage or failure which adversely affects the structural strength, performance, or flight characteristics of the aircraft, and which would normally require major repair or replacement of the affected component. Engine failure or damage limited to an engine if only one engine fails or is damaged, bent fairings or cowling, dented skin, small punctured holes in the skin or fabric, ground damage to rotor or propeller blades, and damage to landing gear, wheels, tires, flaps, engine accessories, brakes, or wingtips are not considered "substantial damage" for the purpose of this part."
Monetary damage is not a factor in determining what constitutes an "accident."

This is for a Medical Review Officer (MRO) to determine, based on his/her medical judgment. In accordance with 49 CFR § 40.327, the MRO is required to report medical information they have learned as part of the verification process if, in their reasonable medical judgment, they determine that this information indicates continued performance by the employee of his or her safety-sensitive duties is likely to pose a significant safety risk. It is up to each employer to decide what action, if any, to take based on the information provided by the MRO.
If an employee has a concern regarding use of a medication that does not relate to a DOT drug test, they should consult their physician or MRO.

No, the regulations do not require an employer to pre-employment drug test an employee who was on extended leave unless their employment was severed.
As an employer, you are permitted to conduct a pre-employment drug test when the following criteria are met:
The individual previously performed a safety-sensitive function for you and is not being rehired or transferred into a safety-sensitive function; or
The employee was removed from the random testing pool for reasons other than a verified positive test result on an FAA-mandated drug test or a refusal to submit to such testing; and
The individual will be returning to the performance of a safety-sensitive function.
It is important for employers to have a consistent policy in place that addresses this issue to ensure that each individual is treated fairly.

No. The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the FAA drug and alcohol testing regulations (49 CFR Part 40 and 14 CFR Part 121, Appendices I and J) do not apply to an individual who performs a safety-sensitive function solely outside of the territory of the United States. All required testing must be conducted within the territory of the United States.

Each employer is required to maintain the following documents to be in compliance with the drug and alcohol testing regulations:

You must retain the following for a minimum of 5 years:

- Copies of annual (MIS) reports submitted to FAA.
- Records of notification to the Federal Air Surgeon of refusals.
- Records of notification to the Federal Air Surgeon of verified positives and alcohol misuse violations by covered
employees who hold Part 67 airman medical certificates.
- Documentation of employees' disputes of alcohol test results.
- Copies of records related to other violations of Sections 65.46(a), 121.458, or 135.253.
- Alcohol test results indicating a result of 0.02 or greater.
- Verified positive drug test results.
- Documentation of refusals to take required alcohol and/or drug tests (including substituted or adulterated drug test results).
- SAP reports.
- Schedules and results of all follow-up tests.

You must retain for a minimum of 3 years, records of information obtained from previous employers concerning drug and alcohol test results of employees.

You must retain the following for a minimum of 2 years:

o Documents generated in connection with decisions to administer reasonable suspicion alcohol tests;

o Documents generated in connection with decisions on post-accident alcohol tests;

o Documents verifying the existence of medical explanations of the inability of a covered employee to provide adequate breath for testing;

o Materials on alcohol misuse awareness, including a copy of the employer's policy on alcohol misuse;

o Documentation of compliance with the distribution of required alcohol educational materials;

o Documentation of training provided to supervisors to make determinations concerning the need for alcohol testing based on reasonable suspicion;

o Certification that training was conducted under Appendix J and complies with the requirements for such training;

o Records of inspection, maintenance, and calibration of evidential breath testing devices; and

o Documentation related to the random selection process, including but not limited to:

¨ Listing of safety-sensitive employees in the random pool prior to each selection;

¨ The actual random selection list each time selections are made;

¨ The employer's copy of the custody and control forms from the random testing;

¨ This may or may not include the verified result, which is maintained under the other timeframes listed above.

· You must retain for a minimum of 1 year, records of negative and cancelled drug test results and alcohol test results of less than 0.02.

· According to the Pilot Records Improvement Act (PRIA) of 1996 (49 USC § 44703(h)), air carriers are required to keep pilot's drug and alcohol testing records for a period of 5 years from the date on the pilot's application for employment. With respect to pilots, PRIA preempts the record retention requirements in appendices I and J of 14 CFR part 121 and 49 CFR § 40.333.

Please read the applicable regulations indicated below, for further information pertaining to record retention of drug and alcohol testing records. Additionally, the Department of Transportation's Web site has a link to a guide on Employer Record Keeping Requirements.

If you have any further questions or need additional guidance that is more specific to your situation, please contact the FAA Drug Abatement Division at (202) 267-8442 or drugabatement@faa.gov.

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Applicable Regulation(s):

14 CFR part 121, appendix I, VII.C.6

14 CFR part 121, appendix J, IV.2.(a) and (b)

49 CFR § 40.333

49 USC § 44703(h)

Yes. All employees who conduct maintenance or preventative maintenance are required to be covered by an FAA drug and alcohol testing program regardless of whether they sign off the work or not.

Yes. 14 CFR Part 43 covers these types of repairs/maintenance, and they must be performed by individuals covered under a drug and alcohol testing program.

You can find information on how to submit drug and alcohol test results on the FAA website: www.faa.gov