219.11—General conditions for chemical tests.
(a)
Any employee who performs covered service for a railroad is deemed to have consented to testing as required in subparts B, C, D, and G of this part; and consent is implied by performance of such service.
(b)
(1)
Each such employee must participate in such testing, as required under the conditions set forth in this part by a representative of the railroad.
(2)
In any case where an employee has sustained a personal injury and is subject to alcohol or drug testing under this part, necessary medical treatment must be accorded priority over provision of the breath or body fluid specimen(s).
(3)
Failure to remain available following an accident or casualty as required by company rules (i.e., being absent without leave) is considered a refusal to participate in testing, without regard to any subsequent provision of specimens.
(c)
A covered employee who is required to be tested under subpart C or D of this part and who is taken to a medical facility for observation or treatment after an accident or incident is deemed to have consented to the release to FRA of the following:
(1)
The remaining portion of any body fluid specimen taken by the treating facility within 12 hours of the accident or incident that is not required for medical purposes, together with any normal medical facility record(s) pertaining to the taking of such specimen;
(2)
The results of any laboratory tests for alcohol or any drug conducted by or for the treating facility on such specimen;
(3)
The identity, dosage, and time of administration of any drugs administered by the treating facility prior to the time specimens were taken by the treating facility or prior to the time specimens were taken in compliance with this part; and
(d)
An employee required to participate in body fluid testing under subpart C of this part (post-accident toxicological testing) or testing subject to subpart H of this part shall, if requested by the representative of the railroad or the medical facility (including, under subpart H of this part, a non-medical contract collector), evidence consent to taking of specimens, their release for toxicological analysis under pertinent provisions of this part, and release of the test results to the railroad's Medical Review Officer by promptly executing a consent form, if required by the medical facility. The employee is not required to execute any document or clause waiving rights that the employee would otherwise have against the employer, and any such waiver is void. The employee may not be required to waive liability with respect to negligence on the part of any person participating in the collection, handling or analysis of the specimen or to indemnify any person for the negligence of others. Any consent provided consistent with this section may be construed to extend only to those actions specified in this section.
(e)
Nothing in this part may be construed to authorize the use of physical coercion or any other deprivation of liberty in order to compel breath or body fluid testing.
(f)
Any railroad employee who performs service for a railroad is deemed to have consented to removal of body fluid and/or tissue specimens necessary for toxicological analysis from the remains of such employee, if such employee dies within 12 hours of an accident or incident described in subpart C of this part as a result of such event. This consent is specifically required of employees not in covered service, as well as employees in covered service.
(g)
Each supervisor responsible for covered employees (except a working supervisor within the definition of co-worker under this part) must be trained in the signs and symptoms of alcohol and drug influence, intoxication and misuse consistent with a program of instruction to be made available for inspection upon demand by FRA. Such a program shall, at a minimum, provide information concerning the acute behavioral and apparent physiological effects of alcohol and the major drug groups on the controlled substances list. The program must also provide training on the qualifying criteria for post-accident testing contained in subpart C of this part, and the role of the supervisor in post-accident collections described in subpart C and appendix C of this part. The duration of such training may not be less than 3 hours.
(h)
Nothing in this subpart restricts any discretion available to the railroad to request or require that an employee cooperate in additional body fluid testing. However, no such testing may be performed on urine or blood specimens provided under this part. For purposes of this paragraph (h), all urine from a void constitutes a single specimen.
(i)
A railroad required or authorized to conduct testing under this part may conduct all such testing in the United States. A foreign railroad required to conduct testing under this part may conduct such tests in its home country, provided that it otherwise complies with the requirements of this part.
[66 FR 41973, Aug. 9, 2001, as amended at 69 FR 19288, Apr. 12, 2004]