FAA regulated employers have a huge responsibility with the FAA required aviation industry drug and alcohol testing program. There are many tools that the Designated Employer Representative, the DER; can take advantage of to assist with the important responsibility of managing this FAA required drug and alcohol testing program. The required program is also often referred to as the Antidrug and Alcohol Misuse Prevention Program.
A few things to know to get started:Starting a New FAA Drug and Alcohol Testing Program
- In order to start a new FAA drug and alcohol testing program, there is registration information depending on which type of Certificate holder you are – Part 119, Part 121, Part 145, Part 135, Air Traffic controller or contractor. For complete registration information go to the FAA page on Starting Drug and Alcohol Testing Program
Pre-Employment Testing
- Before hiring or transferring an employee into a safety-sensitive position, verify that you have received a negative pre-employment drug test result.Conduct a drug and alcohol records check according to 49 CFR part 40, section 40.25.Ask all newly hired or transferred safety-sensitive employees if they have ever tested positive on or refused to submit to a pre-employment drug or alcohol test in the previous two years.Advise all individuals that a pre-employment drug test includes marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates and phencyclidine.
- Ensure that all safety-sensitive employees and only safety-sensitive employees are in the random pool.All random testing pools must meet the required minimum annual testing rate. FAA publishes the rates for the coming year each December on its web site.Maintain random testing records for at least two years, including the list of employees in the random testing pool before each selection, the selection list, and documentation that the test was conducted.
A great resource that is available to FAA DER’s is the FAA Doing Everything Right Video Series which is available on the FAA web page for DER Awareness Information. Five great short informational videos provide excellent introductory information for the FAA DER. These include:
- Pre-employment testingRandom testingThe return-to-duty processThe collection processEmployee education/EAP
National Drug Screening can assist in all aspect of your FAA Drug and Alcohol Testing Program from registration to implementation and ongoing administration. It is very important you deal with a drug testing vender that has experience with FAA Antidrug and Alcohol Misuse Prevention Programs. When working with National Drug Screening you will receive expert assistance each and every time you have your FAA audit of your program. Click Here to get started today.
