Who Is a Safety-Sensitive Employee under FTA Rules?

FTA drug and alcohol rules in 49 CFR Part 655 apply to each recipient and subrecipient of Federal transit assistance under 49 U.S.C. 5307, 5309, or 5311, and to contractors of those recipients and subrecipients (49 CFR 655.3). A covered employee is a person, including an applicant or transferee, who performs or will perform a safety-sensitive function for an entity subject to Part 655 (49 CFR 655.4).

Part 655 defines these duties as safety-sensitive functions when performed by employees of recipients, subrecipients, operators, or contractors (49 CFR 655.4):

• Operating a revenue service vehicle, including when it is not in revenue service.
• Operating a nonrevenue service vehicle when a Commercial Driver's License holder is required to operate it.
• Controlling dispatch or movement of a revenue service vehicle.
• Maintaining a revenue service vehicle or equipment used in revenue service, including repairs, overhaul, and rebuilding.
• Carrying a firearm for security purposes.

A vehicle includes a bus, electric bus, van, automobile, rail car, trolley car, trolley bus, or vessel. The maintenance function has an exception. It does not apply to an employer that receives 5307 or 5309 funds, is in an area of less than 200,000 in population, and contracts out maintenance, or to a 5311 recipient that contracts out maintenance. A volunteer is a covered employee if the volunteer is required to hold a Commercial Driver's License, or performs a safety-sensitive function and receives pay beyond actual expenses. Performing a safety-sensitive function includes any period when the employee is actually performing, ready to perform, or immediately available to perform it (49 CFR 655.4).

Contractors are covered. Part 655 defines a contractor as a person or organization that provides a safety-sensitive service under a written contract or an informal arrangement that reflects an ongoing relationship, and the term employer includes subrecipients, operators, and contractors (49 CFR 655.4). A recipient is responsible for making sure that a subrecipient or contractor that receives these funds directly from it complies with Part 655 (49 CFR 655.81).

Two exceptions apply. A recipient operating a railroad regulated by FRA follows 49 CFR Part 219 and 49 CFR 655.83 for its railroad operations and Part 655 for any non-railroad operations (49 CFR 655.3(b)). A recipient operating a ferryboat regulated by the Coast Guard that complies with the testing requirements of 46 CFR Parts 4 and 16 and 33 CFR Part 95 is in concurrent compliance with the Part 655 testing requirements, except for 49 CFR 655.45 and Subparts G and H (49 CFR 655.3(c)). Testing for DOT-regulated employers under Part 655 follows Part 655 and 49 CFR Part 40 (49 CFR 655.12).