Implementation Guidelines - Federal Transit Administration - U.S. ...

Q. After being notified by a Medical Review Officer (MRO) if a verified positive drug test,
an employee has 72 hours to request that the split sample be tested. When does the 72hour
period begin and end?
A. The 72 hours begin when the employee has been notified by the MRO. The 72-hour time
period includes both holidays and weekends.
TRAINING
Q. Why are you requiring training for mass transit employees on drug use but not on
alcohol misuse?
A. Among many employees, information about drugs – what they are, what their effects are,
what legal consequences for their use are – is less likely to be a matter of common
knowledge than information about alcohol and its misuse. Training is more useful when it
fills what may be an information gap.
Q. Employees are to be provided with materials on the drug and alcohol testing policies
and procedures. What materials should be provided to contract employees? Do they
get the materials from the FTA recipient or from their own firm? What if the policies
of the operator differ from the subcontractor (i.e., the recipient provides rehabilitation
for its safety-sensitive employees, but the subcontractor fires all drivers who fail a drug
test)? Which policies will prevail?
A. The FTA drug and alcohol rule requires an employer to make available to every safetysensitive
employee, a policy statement describing the employer’s prohibited drug and alcohol
misuse programs. The rule does not preclude the employer from having sanctions under its
own authority in addition to those mandated by FTA, but it must be clearly defined as
separate from FTA’s requirements. Likewise, the rule does not preclude the recipient from
stipulating consequences as part of its contractual relationship with the subcontractor.
Q. The rule specifies a certain number of hours of training for employees and supervisors.
Are these hours of training a one-time requirement or are they periodic? What would
happen if a supervisor changed jobs? Would additional training hours be required?
A. The training requirements in the rule are one-time requirements. While it could be
considered “best practice” to provide refresher training, the rule does not elaborate on this
issue, and additional training is left to the discretion of the employers. If a supervisor
becomes responsible for making reasonable suspicion referrals, that supervisor must receive
additional training. If a supervisor changed employers, the new FTA-covered employer
would be required to provide training for the supervisor. The fact that the supervisor had
training at the previous employer is not relevant.
Appendix G. Questions and Answers G-7 August 2002