219.607—Railroad random alcohol testing programs.
(a)
Each railroad must submit for FRA approval a random alcohol testing program meeting the requirements of this subpart. A railroad commencing operations must submit a random alcohol testing program not later than 30 days prior to such commencement. The program must be submitted to the Associate Administrator for Safety, FRA, for review and approval. If, after approval, a railroad desires to amend the random alcohol testing program implemented under this subpart, the railroad must file with FRA a notice of such amendment at least 30 days prior to the intended effective date of such action. A program responsive to the requirements of this section or any amendment to the program may not be implemented prior to approval.
(b) Form of programs.
Random alcohol testing programs submitted by or on behalf of each railroad under this subpart must meet the following criteria, and the railroad and its managers, supervisors, officials and other employees and agents must conform to such criteria in implementing the program:
(1)
As a railroad, to calculate the total number of covered employees eligible for random testing throughout the year, you must add the total number of covered employees eligible for testing during each random testing period for the year and divide that total by the number of random testing periods. Covered employees, and only covered employees, are to be in a railroad's random testing pool, and all covered employees must be in the random pool. If you are a railroad conducting random testing more often than once per month (e.g., you select daily, weekly, bi-weekly), you do not need to compute this total number of covered employees rate more than on a once per month basis.
(i)
As a railroad, you may use a service agent (e.g., C/TPA) to perform random selections for you, and your covered employees may be part of a larger random testing pool of covered employees. However, you must ensure that the service agent you use is testing at the appropriate percentage established for your industry and that only covered employees are in the random testing pool.
(2)
The program must include testing procedures and safeguards, and, consistent with this part, procedures for action based on tests where the employee is found to have violated § 219.101.
(3)
The program must ensure that random alcohol tests conducted under this part are unannounced and that the dates for administering random tests are spread reasonably throughout the calendar year.
(4)
The program must ensure to the maximum extent practicable that each covered employee perceives the possibility that a random alcohol test may be required at any time the employee reports for work and at any time during the duty tour (except any period when the employee is expressly relieved of any responsibility for performance of covered service).
(5)
An employee may be subject to testing only while on duty. Only employees who perform covered service for the railroad may be subject to testing under this part. In the case of employees who during some duty tours perform covered service and during others do not, the railroad program may specify the extent to which, and the circumstances under which they are subject to testing. To the extent practical within the limitations of this part and in the context of the railroad's operations, the railroad program must provide that employees are subject to the possibility of random testing on any day they actually perform covered service.
(7)
Each time an employee is notified for random alcohol testing the employee must be informed that selection was made on a random basis.
(8)
Each railroad must ensure that each covered employee who is notified of selection for random alcohol testing proceeds to the test site immediately; provided, however, that if the employee is performing a safety-sensitive function at the time of the notification, the railroad must instead ensure that the employee ceases to perform the safety-sensitive function and proceeds to the testing site as soon as possible.
(c) Implementation.
(1)
No later than 45 days prior to commencement of random alcohol testing, the railroad must publish to each of its covered employees, individually, a written notice that the employee will be subject to random alcohol testing under this part. Such notice must state the date for commencement of the program, must state that the selection of employees for testing will be on a strictly random basis, must describe the consequences of a determination that the employee has violated § 219.101 or any applicable railroad rule, and must inform the employee of the employee's rights under subpart E of this part. A copy of the notice must be provided to each new covered employee on or before the employee's initial date of service. Since knowledge of Federal law is presumed, nothing in this paragraph (c)(1) creates a defense to a violation of § 219.101. This notice may be combined with the notice or policy statement required by § 219.23.
(2)
A railroad commencing operations must submit a random testing program 60 days after doing so. The railroad must implement its approved random testing program not later than the expiration of 60 days from approval by the Administrator.
[66 FR 41973, Aug. 9, 2001, as amended at 68 FR 75464, Dec. 31, 2003]