What Does FAA Post-Accident Drug Testing Entail?

Safety sensitive employees working under the FAA mode are required by the Federal Aviation Administration to go through a mandatory SAP (Substance Abuse Professional program) whenever they fail or refuse a Department of Transportation (DOT) mandated drug or alcohol test. The Substance Abuse Professional has the responsibility to evaluate applicants and employees who have a DOT testing violation. The SAP makes recommendations regarding matters on treatment, education, returning-to-duty, aftercare as well as follow-up testing. Employees must show compliance to all these recommendations before application to resume safety-sensitive duties can be considered. Upon satisfactory compliance to the recommended treatment and/or education an employee must produce a negative return-to-duty drug and/or alcohol test.

Why Do We Have FAA Post-Accident Drug Testing

In 1986, when President Ronald Reagan signed the executive order asking federal agencies to come up with an employee drug testing program, the response of the DOT was to develop an all-inclusive program and even obligated it further down to all the administrations of the DOT. One of these was the Federal Aviation Administration – FAA, which had a role in covering both flight and ground crews. The DOT came up with other policies to prevent drug abuse, and post-accident drug testing was one of them.

This policy requires the employees with violations of substance abuse to step aside from safety-sensitive operations and complete treatment and/or education before they can be allowed to resume their duties.

What is FAA Post-Accident Drug Testing

FAA Post-Accident Drug Testing refers to the alcohol or drug test an employee must complete after being involved in accidents as defined in 14 CFR part 120. The FAA utilizes this post-accident policy to boost safety at the workplace and to lower the legal liability and the variety of costs that could be connected to a workplace accident. The FAA Post-Accident Drug Testing is to be done immediately after an accident to determine if the performance of that employee contributed to the accident or can be provably dismissed as one of the leading factors to that accident. It should be carried out no later than 32 hours after the accident and any employee covered by this policy must be willing to get tested at any time.

Apart from the FAA, other administrations that implement the drugs and alcohol testing rules are the Federal Transit Administration, The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, United States Coast Guard, Federal Railroad Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

FAA Post-Accident Drug Testing Upon Completion of SAP Program

If you have failed a DOT-mandated drug or alcohol test, and are mandated by the FAA, get in touch with SAP Referral Services. SRS has helped thousands of workers receive the DOT regulated services necessary to return to work. For more information on SAP Referral Services’ FastTrack Enrollment Program click here.

sources:
FAA.gov
Department of Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs

SAP Referral Services (SRS) is the leading facilitator for mandated substance abuse evaluations. SRS maintains an extensive network of qualified providers in more than 3,000 locations nationwide for testing violations that originate from any of the DOT’s modes including FMCSA, FAA, FRA, FTA, USCG and PHMSA, or a company’s internal drug and alcohol testing policy.