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

ased/electronic submission). A few commenters stated that the proposed rule does
not reduce their administrative burden. Most commenters indicated that sampling
reduces some of the burden on rural transit systems; however, a commenter noted that
states are still required to collect subrecipient’s data. Other commenters indicated that
FTA should have one uniform period for record retention.
FTA Response. FTA believes sampling will reduce the paperwork burden
on a portion of the industry while still maintaining a high confidence level in the results.
Transit employers are still required to prepare an MIS form annually; however, they will
only be required to submit an MIS form when requested by FTA. However, FTA’s
record retention time periods reflect those of the other DOT modes for administrative
uniformity. FTA will review the feasibility of web-based submission of data and will
issue further guidance on this issue.
B. Access to Facilities And Records (§655.73)
As previously discussed in section 655.4 of subpart A, FTA received a number of
comments indicating that states should not be included under the definition of
“employer” in order to gain access to records. Many commenters also objected to state
regulatory agencies and law enforcement agencies having independent access to
employee records. The majority of comments indicated that only those state agencies and
grantees with oversight responsibilities and which are required to certify compliance
should have access to the employee’s drug and alcohol testing information.
FTA Response. The final rule is amended by adding paragraph (i) to this section.
An employer may release information to the state agency or grantee with oversight
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