Implementation Guidelines - Federal Transit Administration - U.S. ...

Supervisor training must include 60
minutes of training on the physical,
behavioral, and performance indicators of
probable drug use, and at least 60 minutes of
training on the physical, behavioral, speech,
and performance indicators of probable
alcohol misuse. Therefore, a total of 120
minutes is required. Before making any
reasonable suspicion determinations,
supervisors and other company officials are
required to complete the necessary training.
The training is only required once and there
is no regulatory requirement for refresher
training.
These requirements should be
considered minimums. Under their own
authority, employers are allowed to exceed
these requirements, and they may require
training that exceeds 2 hours in length
and/or require periodic refresher training.
Training Agenda
See Exhibit 5-3 in the Sample
Documentation section of this chapter for a
proposed agenda on supervisory training.
The agenda complies with the regulations
and assumes that the alcohol and drug
program training will be conducted
concurrently. Training elements that are not
specifically required by the regulations are
marked as optional.
To improve effectiveness, your training
program may be expanded to introduce the
purpose of the regulation and to review the
testing requirements and the disciplinary
procedures adopted by your agency. In
addition, you may include a discussion of
confrontation and documentation
procedures, and rehabilitation and treatment
options, if they exist. Your supervisors
should understand all of these topics to
administer the program effectively.
To help you prepare your training
sessions, Appendix F of these guidelines
contains descriptions of the effects and
behavioral indicators of alcohol and
prohibited substances.
Record Keeping Requirements
You must maintain detailed records of
both your employee and supervisory drug
and alcohol training for 2 years (§655.71).
You must keep copies of all your training
materials including attendance rosters, dates
and times of training, and certifications of
training compliance.
Your drug and alcohol training records
should be stored either with your other
training records or in the agency’s drug and
alcohol testing program files.
Section 3. PRESCRIPTION AND
OVER-THE-COUNTER DRUGS
The FTA drug and alcohol testing
regulations do not address the use of
prescription and over-the-counter (OTC)
medications. However, on May 22, 2000,
the FTA issued a “Dear Colleague” letter to
all grant recipients encouraging them to
educate transit operators about the risks
associated with their use. Specifically,
grantees are encouraged to: 1) review
current policies with regard to operator’s use
of over-the-counter and prescription
Chapter 5. Training 5-5 August 2002