Opinion ID: 795247
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Federal Law Governing the Drug Testing of Aviation Employees

Text: 27 In the FAAct, Congress granted the FAA broad authority over aviation safety, including the power to adopt regulations that it finds necessary for safety in air commerce and national security. 49 U.S.C. § 44701(a)(5). Pursuant to this power, in 1988, the FAA promulgated regulations mandating that all aviation-industry employees who perform safety-sensitive functions be subjected to random drug-testing. See Anti-Drug Program for Personnel Engaged in Specified Aviation Activities, 53 Fed.Reg. 47024 (Nov. 21, 1988) (codified as amended at 14 C.F.R. pt. 121, App. I). The regulations set forth in great detail the standards and components that required drug-testing programs must include. See 14 C.F.R. pt. 121, App. I. They prescribe, among other things, the classes of employees that must be tested, 14 C.F.R. pt. 121, App. I § III, the substances for which they must be tested, id. § IV, the types of testing to be conducted (e.g., pre-employment testing, random testing, and post-accident testing), id. § V, and the length of time that records of required drug testing must be retained, id. § VI. 28 The FAA regulations incorporate by reference DOT regulations that set out detailed protocols to be followed by drug-testing laboratories. See id. § I.B. (requiring that aviation employers comply with Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug Testing Programs, 49 C.F.R. pt. 40, published by the DOT). The DOT regulations provide, among other things, that laboratories must use chain-of-custody procedures to document each time a urine specimen is handled or transferred, see 49 C.F.R. § 40.83(b), that an employer's designated MRO must review and certify test results before the laboratory reports them to the employer, id. § 40.97(b); id. § 40.123, and that laboratories must report test results to an MRO in writing, id. § 40.97(b). Although they set out elaborate rules for conducting drug tests, the DOT regulations do not specifically address negligence on the part of drug-testing laboratories or otherwise establish the minimum standard of care to be exercised by laboratory personnel. 29 Neither the FAA nor the DOT drug-testing regulations provide for their own enforcement. Violations of the regulations, with respect to drug testing under the FAA's jurisdiction, are instead remedied by the general enforcement provisions of the FAAct. See 49 U.S.C. § 46101 (procedure for individuals or government officials to instigate investigation regarding violations of the FAAct or of regulations prescribed thereunder); see also Drake v. FAA, 291 F.3d at 70-71 (noting that Drake filed a complaint with the FAA pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 46101 and concluding that the FAA's decision not to commence an enforcement action against Delta Air Lines was unreviewable). The remedies provided by the Act do not include a private right of action for violations of FAA regulations. See Drake v. Delta Air Lines, 147 F.3d at 170-71; see also Schmeling v. NORDAM, 97 F.3d 1336, 1344 (10th Cir. 1996). 30 In 1991, Congress enacted the OTETA, which mandated drug testing for a wide range of transportation workers. See Pub.L. No. 102-143, 105 Stat. 917, 952. The OTETA directed the FAA, specifically, to create a system of random drug-testing for aviation industry employees in safety-sensitive positions. See id. at 953-57 (codified as amended at 49 U.S.C. §§ 45101-07). Although the provisions of the OTETA relating to the FAA covered much of the same ground as the FAA's 1988 regulations, the statute did not supersede the rule. To the contrary, the statute expressly provided that it did not prevent the FAA from continu[ing] in force, amend[ing], or further supplement[ing] preexisting regulations regarding drug testing. Id. at 956 (codified as amended at 49 U.S.C. § 45106(c)).