FAA SEEKS COMMENT ON DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING OF CERTAIN MAINTENANCE PROVIDER EMPLOYEES LOCATED OUTSIDE OF U. S.
March 31, 2014
In response to a mandate in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 the FAA is seeking comments on developing a rulemaking that would require employees of FAA-certified foreign repair stations and certain other maintenance providers who perform safety-sensitive work on Part 121 U.S. aircraft to be subject to a drug and alcohol testing program. The mandate also specifies that the proposed drug and alcohol testing program be determined acceptable by the FAA and is consistent with the applicable laws of the countries in which the repair stations are located. The comment period will be useful to assist the FAA in developing the proposed rule and to examine the economic impact of a testing program. Specifically, the issues the FAA is interested in include:
- Which drugs are most misused in a particular country? If testing programs exist, are they administered by a national regulatory authority? Are industry participants required to establish such programs under the country’s laws and regulations, or does industry do that voluntarily?
- Should the program require testing for the same drugs the FAA requires tests for in the United States? At what concentrations should alcohol and drug tests be considered “positive?”
- Does a particular country allow or require random drug and/or alcohol testing? If so, what is the process?
- If a country does not allow or require random drug and/or alcohol testing, are there laws that prohibit random testing? What other methods might successfully deter employees from misusing drugs or alcohol while performing safety-sensitive duties, or within a certain period of time before performing such duties? How would such misuse be detected?
- What are the standards that employees who have violated drug and alcohol regulations should meet before they are allowed to return to performing safety-sensitive maintenance work?
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