Exemption No. 6960 

 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

 FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION 

 WASHINGTON, DC 20591 

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

 * 

 In the matter of the petition of * 

 * 

 AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC. * Regulatory Docket 

 * No. 29706 

 for an exemption from * 

 section V.A.1. of * 

 appendix I to part 121 * 

 of Title 14, Code of * 

 Federal Regulations * 

 * 

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

 

 GRANT OF EXEMPTION 

 By letter dated August 13, 1999, Ms. Tamara S. Wright, 

 Program Manager, Drug & Alcohol Testing, American Airlines, Inc. 

 (American), 4333 Amon Carter Boulevard, Mail Drop 5238, Fort 

 Worth, Texas 76155, petitioned the Federal Aviation 

 Administration (FAA) on behalf of American for an exemption from 

 section V, paragraph (a)(1) of appendix I to part 121 of 

 Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The proposed 

 exemption, if granted, would permit each employee performing 

 safety-sensitive functions for Reno Air, Inc. (Reno) as of August 

 30, 1999, to perform similar functions for American beginning 

 August 31, 1999, without being subject to a pre-employment drug 

 test. 

 

 The petitioner requests relief from the following regulation: 

 Section V.A.1. of appendix I to part 121 prescribes that 

 prior to the first time an individual performs a safety- 

 sensitive function for an employer, the employer shall 

 require the individual to undergo testing for prohibited 

 drug use. 

 

 Although the petitioner requests an exemption from section V.A.1 

 of appendix I to part 121, the FAA finds that the petitioner also 

 requires relief from the following regulation: 

 Section 121.457(a) prescribes that each certificate holder 

 or operator shall test each of its employees who performs a 

 function listed in appendix I to part 121 in accordance with 

 that appendix. 

 AAM-99-528-E 
 

 The petitioner supports its request with the following 

 information: 

 The petitioner states that American has been testing 

 employees for illicit drug use in accordance with Department 

 of Transportation (DOT) and FAA regulations since 1989. The 

 petitioner adds that it employs approximately 40,000 

 individuals who perform safety-sensitive functions and that 

 it maintains its own internal Medical Review Officers. 

 

 The petitioner states that American maintains all records in 

 accordance with the applicable requirements of appendix I to 

 part 121. 

 The petitioner states that Reno has been a wholly owned 

 subsidiary of American since December 23, 1998. After 

 August 31, 1999, Reno's drug and alcohol testing program 

 will be merged with American's. The petitioner indicates 

 that Reno employs approximately 1,000 individuals who 

 perform safety-sensitive functions and, therefore, require 

 drug tests in accordance with appendix I to part 121. 

 

 The petitioner states that Reno has been testing employees 

 for drugs in accordance with DOT and FAA regulations since 

 the carrier commenced operations in 1992. The petitioner 

 further states that unlike some other carriers that employ 

 individuals who were not given a pre-employment drug test 

 because they were "grandfathered" when the regulation was 

 promulgated, all Reno employees performing safety-sensitive 

 functions had a verified negative pre-employment drug test. 

 

 The petitioner states that Reno maintains all the records 

 for drug testing in accordance with applicable requirements 

 of appendix I to part 121. The petitioner further states 

 that all records will be available immediately to American, 

 thereby providing a verifiable drug test history for each 

 employee. 

 

 The petitioner further states that during the transition all 

 covered employees would be continuously subject to an 

 FAA-approved anti-drug and alcohol testing program without 

 interruption. The petitioner adds that in accordance with 

 American's program, employees who were not previously 

 performing safety-sensitive functions or had a break in 

 service will be given pre-employment drug tests. The 

 petitioner also states that American will continue to follow 

 FAA-approved drug and alcohol plan A-SW-00014-S. 

 

 The petitioner also states that Reno has no history of FAA 

 enforcement actions regarding its drug testing program. In 

 addition to administering a pre-employment drug test to all 

 employees performing safety-sensitive functions, the 

 petitioner states that Reno has maintained a zero-tolerance 

 
 

 policy regarding pre-employment drug test failures. Reno 

 does not permit conditional reinstatements for individuals 

 who subsequently might pass a drug test. 

 In view of these facts, the petitioner contends that 

 requiring American to administer a pre-employment drug test 

 to each Reno employee who performs a safety-sensitive 

 function is unduly burdensome and inconsistent with the 

 intent of the regulations. 

 

 The petitioner also contends that granting the proposed 

 exemption would not adversely affect the level of safety. 

 The petitioner states that although Reno employees would be 

 absorbed by American, Reno's airplanes, routes, and airports 

 would be maintained by the current Reno employees who have 

 been continually subject to random drug testing as required 

 by appendix I to part 121 and Reno's approved drug testing 

 program. 

 

 Additionally, the petitioner states that both carriers have 

 a proven documented history of effective and compliant drug 

 testing programs and individual employee records would be 

 immediately available and verifiable. In conclusion, the 

 petitioner states that the fact that both programs are 

 combined does not fundamentally change the level of safety 

 or subvert the purpose of the regulations. 

 

 A summary of this petition was published in the Federal 

 Register on August 27, 1999 (64 FR 46965). The comment period 

 closes on September 5, 1999. No comments have been received as 

 of this date. 

 The FAA's analysis/summary is as follows: 

 The FAA has given careful consideration to the facts 

 presented by the petitioner. The FAA finds that a grant of 

 exemption from certain provisions of the drug testing 

 regulations is in the public interest based on the specific 

 facts provided by the petitioner. 

 

 The FAA finds that the merger of Reno into petitioner's 

 company is extremely unique with respect to Reno's history 

 of pre-employment testing. FAA inspected Reno twice on 

 routine full-scale inspections and found no failures by the 

 air carrier to pre-employment test its employees. 

 Pre-employment testing is one of the most common violations 

 discovered during inspections, therefore the absence of any 

 such violations is not only rare, but lends credibility to 

 the petitioner's arguments that Reno's safety-sensitive 

 employees had been properly pre-employment tested. 

 

 Petitioner has stated that all Reno employees performing a 

 safety-sensitive function had a verified negative 

 pre-employment drug test result because no one was 
 

 "grandfathered" when the drug testing regulations were 

 promulgated. This is significant because it means that all 

 Reno employees were required to take a pre-employment drug 

 test and received a negative drug test result. As stated 

 above, during inspections, FAA found no failures to conduct 

 pre-employment testing by Reno. These facts make this a 

 very unique situation in which it appears that Reno has met 

 its burden to ensure that individuals crossing its threshold 

 into safety-sensitive functions have been consistently, and 

 without exception, screened for drug use. Therefore, the 

 public interest in ensuring that active drug users are 

 detected and prevented from entering safety-sensitive 

 aviation positions was met diligently by Reno. 

 

 In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of 

 exemption is in the public interest. Therefore, pursuant to the 

 authority contained in 49 U.S.C. Sections 40113 and 44701, 

 delegated to me by the Administrator (14 CFR Section 11.53), 

 American Airlines, Inc., is granted an exemption from 14 CFR 

 Section 121.457(a) and section V.A.1. of appendix I to part 121 

 to the extent necessary to allow each employee performing safety- 

 sensitive functions for Reno Air, Inc., to perform safety- 

 sensitive functions as employees of American without being 

 subject to a pre-employment drug test. 

 

 Issued in Washington, DC, on August 27, 1999. 

 /s/ Robert S. Poole, M.D. 

 Acting Federal Air Surgeon