Document ID: FRA-2001-11213-0026
Agency: fra
Document Type: Notice
Title: Drug and Alcohol Testing: Determination of Minimum Random Testing Rates for 2020
Posted Date: 2020-01-23T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 15 (Thursday, January 23, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 4058]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01011]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2001-11213, Notice No. 24]

Drug and Alcohol Testing: Determination of Minimum Random Testing 
Rates for 2020

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notification of determination.

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SUMMARY: This notification of determination announces FRA's minimum 
annual random drug and minimum annual random alcohol testing rates for 
covered employees and for maintenance-of-way (MOW) employees for 
calendar year 2020.

DATES: This determination takes effect January 23, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerald Powers, FRA Drug and Alcohol 
Program Manager, W33-310, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone 202-493-6313); or Sam 
Noe, FRA Drug and Alcohol Program Specialist, Federal Railroad 
Administration (telephone 615-719-2951).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FRA is announcing the 2020 minimum annual 
random drug and alcohol testing rates for covered service employees, 
and the 2020 minimum annual random drug and alcohol testing rates for 
MOW employees. For calendar year 2020, the minimum annual random 
testing rates for covered service employees will continue to be 25 
percent for drugs and 10 percent for alcohol, while the minimum annual 
random testing rates for MOW employees will continue to be 50 percent 
for drugs and 25 percent for alcohol.
    To set its minimum annual random testing rates for each year, FRA 
examines the last two complete calendar years of railroad industry drug 
and alcohol program data submitted to its Management Information System 
(MIS). The rail industry's random drug testing positive rate for 
covered service employees (employees subject to the hours of service 
laws and regulations) remained below 1.0 percent for 2017 and 2018. The 
Administrator has therefore determined the minimum annual random drug 
testing rate for the period January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020, 
will remain at 25 percent for covered service employees. The industry-
wide random alcohol testing violation rate for covered service 
employees remained below 0.5 percent for 2017 and 2018. Therefore, the 
Administrator has determined the minimum random alcohol testing rate 
will remain at 10 percent for covered service employees for the period 
January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. Because these rates 
represent minimums, railroads may conduct FRA random testing at higher 
rates.
    MOW employees became subject to FRA random drug and alcohol testing 
in June 2017. The Administrator has determined that the minimum annual 
random testing rates initially established for MOW employees will 
remain in effect because FRA does not have MIS data for two consecutive 
years that represents their industry-wide performance rates. 
Specifically, MOW employees became subject to FRA random testing 
effective June 12, 2017, and the resulting 2017 MIS data FRA received 
reflected industry-wide MOW random testing rates that were below the 
annual minimum rates of 50 percent (drugs) and 25 percent (alcohol) for 
MOW employees. Therefore, for the period January 1, 2020, through 
December 31, 2020, the minimum annual random drug testing rate will 
continue to be 50 percent for MOW employees, and the minimum annual 
random alcohol testing rate will continue to be 25 percent for MOW 
employees. As with covered service employees, because these rates 
represent minimums, railroads may conduct FRA random testing of MOW 
employees at higher rates.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Ronald L. Batory,
Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-01011 Filed 1-22-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-06-P