The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires that aviation employers implement drug testing programs. These employers include airlines, aircraft maintenance or preventive maintenance providers, private company air traffic control facilities, and aircraft manufacturers. Subcontractors who perform safety-sensitive work for the above employer types must also comply with FAA drug and alcohol testing regulations.
The FAA aggressively inspects employer drug testing programs to ensure compliance with the drug and alcohol testing regulations: 14 CFR Part 120 and 49 CFR Part 40. If an FAA inspection or audit uncovers noncompliance, fines can be costly.
How Does the FAA Inspection or Audit Get Started?
Initially, you will receive a letter from an FAA drug and alcohol compliance and enforcement inspector. This letter will schedule a live or virtual inspection of your drug and alcohol testing program. The inspector will request that you return a point of contact form and will describe what records you must submit as part of the inspection. The form will include the following requests:
- Your designated employer representative or program manager (DER) contact information.
- Contact name and address of the primary site you use for specimen collections and breath alcohol testing.
- Contact name and address of your medical review officer (MRO)
- Name of the person at your company responsible for providing training to new employees and/or supervisors, and the materials provided.
- Contact name and address of your consortium or third-party administrator (C/TPA) who is helping you manage your drug and alcohol testing program.
If you don’t have a C/TPA, you should get one as soon as possible.
Your DER should already have all of the above information. Your DER is your company representative responsible for answering questions relating to the DOT/FAA drug and alcohol testing program and maintaining and securing your testing records.
A professional and competent C/TPA should be able to assist you with obtaining the information in all of the above items and all requested records and documents necessary for inspection. Before an inspection occurs, ask your current drug testing provider if they will be able to assist you with preparing for it. If the provider answers no or hesitates, you need a new C/TPA immediately.
What Records and Documents Does the FAA Request for the Inspection or Audit?
This list of documents and records requested for the FAA inspection or audit can be daunting. Your C/TPA should be able to help you obtain all necessary information. Records requested usually include the following:
- A list of all current and terminated employees hired and/or transferred into safety-sensitive positions in the past 24 months. FAA inspectors will check on a negative drug test result received prior to the start of the safety-sensitive work.
- A complete list of all employees added to the random testing pool in the last 24 months.
- Documentation of the random selections and completion of the random tests.
- A list of contractors or vendors providing safety-sensitive functions by contract in the last 24 months. Verification of the drug and alcohol testing program that these contractors maintain might be required. In some cases, you might have such contractors in your aviation companies program.
- All post-accident drug and alcohol tests conducted in the last 24 months.
- Documentation of reasonable cause or suspicion testing conducted in the last 24 months.
- Documentation of signs or symptoms to validate the reason for testing and documentation of training for supervisor(s) involved in the decision to test.
- Inspection of all positive drug tests, all positive alcohol tests, and all refusals to test.
- Semiannual laboratory statistical summaries for the previous two years and the drug and alcohol testing management information system reports for the previous two calendar years.
The above list is not necessarily exhaustive, and you may have to provide additional information. The FAA publishes a comprehensive DRUG ABATEMENT PROGRAM INSPECTION GUIDE on its website where you can review all details of an inspection or audit.
What About a Mock Audit or Inspection of My Drug and Alcohol Testing Program?
You can prepare for a potential audit or inspection of your drug and alcohol testing program. Training for your DER is highly recommended. To discuss a mock audit, please call or email Joe Reilly for assistance at 321-622-2020 or joe@joereilly.com.
It is critically important for you to be ready for a drug and alcohol testing program inspection or audit. The FAA can and does impose civil penalties for noncompliance with drug and alcohol testing requirements under 14 CFR Part 120/49 CFR Part 40. These are monetary not criminal fines assessed per violation and can go up to $13,066 per violation. The FAA often assesses fines of $100,000 or more because of multiple violations.
Talk now to your C/TPA and are they the right vendor for you for this important program. National Drug Screening offers comprehensive FAA drug and alcohol testing programs, with expertise for over 25 years.
Ensuring adherence to the FAA-mandated drug and alcohol testing program is a complex task. National Drug Screening (NDS) has long been specializing in FAA compliance for drug and alcohol testing. NDS president, Joe Reilly, is available for an initial consultation regarding your FAA-compliant drug and alcohol testing program or your upcoming inspection or audit. You can reach him at 321-622-2020.
