[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 4739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01630]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary


Mounir R. Khouri; Public Interest Exclusion Order

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: On January 20, 2016, the Department of Transportation (DOT) 
issued a decision and order under the Procedures for Transportation 
Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs that excludes a service 
agent, Mounir R. Khouri, from providing drug and alcohol testing 
services in any capacity to any DOT-regulated employer for a period of 
5 years. Mr. Khouri provided Consortium/Third Party Administrator 
Services (C/TPA) and Medical Review Officer (MRO) services to DOT-
regulated trucking companies. Mr. Khouri pled guilty to criminal 
charges that he made materially false statements that an MRO had 
reviewed drug test results, when a qualified MRO had not done so. This 
Federal Register publication serves as notice to the public that DOT-
regulated employers or their service agents must stop using the 
services of Mounir R. Khouri for administering their DOT-regulated drug 
and/or alcohol testing programs.

DATES: The effective date of the Public Interest Exclusion is January 
20, 2016 and it will remain in effect until January 20, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrice M. Kelly, Acting Director, 
U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy 
and Compliance, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; (202) 
366-3784 (voice), (202) 366-3897 (fax), or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9dedfce9eff4fef8b3f6f8f1f1e4ddf9f2e9b3faf2eb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3b4b5a4f4952585e15505e5757427b5f544f155c544d">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In accordance with the provisions of the Department's regulation at 
49 CFR part 40 (Part 40), Subpart R, Public Interest Exclusions (PIE), 
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a Notice 
of Proposed Exclusion (NOPE) to Mr. Khouri on August 27, 2015, 
notifying him that he had engaged in serious noncompliance. In the 
NOPE, the FMCSA stated that the Department's Office of the Inspector 
General had conducted a criminal investigation that revealed that Mr. 
Khouri subverted the MRO's role in the testing process. Specifically, 
Mr. Khouri held out as performing C/TPA services and he: Received 
laboratory confirmed drug test results and falsely certified that those 
results were reviewed by a qualified MRO; acted as an MRO, without 
qualifications to do so, by verifying laboratory confirmed positive 
test results; and prepared false Federal Drug Testing Custody and 
Control Forms (CCFs) for untested specimens and misrepresented that the 
specimens had tested negative. In the United States District Court for 
the District of Vermont, Mr. Khouri pled guilty and was convicted for 
making false statements on a CCF. Those false statements indicated that 
an MRO had reviewed a drug test, when Mr. Khouri knew that had not 
occurred.

Public Interest Exclusion Decision and Order

    On January 20, 2016, the Department issued a PIE against Mounir R. 
Khouri. This PIE prohibits all DOT-regulated employers and service 
agents from utilizing Mounir R. Khouri for drug and alcohol testing 
services in any capacity for a period of 5 years. A full copy of the 
Department's Decision and Order can be found at http://www.dot.gov/odapc.
    In accordance with the terms of the Department's Decision and Order 
and per 49 CFR 40.403(a), Mounir R. Khouri is required to directly 
notify each of the affected DOT-regulated employer clients in writing 
about the issuance, scope, duration, and effect of the PIE. The 
Department is notifying employers and the public about this PIE by 
publishing it in a ``List of Excluded Drug and Alcohol Service Agents'' 
on its Web site at http://www.dot.gov/odapc/ and will make the list 
available upon request. As required by 49 CFR 40.401(d), the Department 
is publishing this Federal Register notice to inform the public that 
Mounir R. Khouri is subject to a PIE for 5 years. After January 20, 
2021, Mounir R. Khouri, will be removed from the list and the public 
will be notified of that removal, also in accordance with 49 CFR 
40.401(d).
    Any DOT-regulated employer who uses the services of Mounir R. 
Khouri between January 20, 2016 and January 20, 2021 may be subject to 
a civil penalty for violation of Part 40.

    Dated this 20th day of January, 2016, at Washington, DC.
Patrice M. Kelly,
Acting Director, Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2016-01630 Filed 1-26-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P


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