Mr. Dan W. Bailey
Employee Relations Manager
Sacramento Regional Transit District
Post Office Box 2110
Sacramento, CA 95812-2110

Dear Mr. Bailey:

Thank you for your July 10, 1997, letter regarding classification of a fare inspection officer as safety sensitive. You ask if these officers may be considered safety-sensitive, and thus subject to the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) drug and alcohol testing rules, based on their job function of "[a]ctivat[ing] switches to allow movement of trains during system breakdown, as needed."

In the preamble to the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) drug and alcohol regulations, we stated that "[b]ecause each recipient uses its own terminology, we have decided to define safety-sensitive based on the function performed instead of listing specific job categories." 59 FR 7584.

The FTA has determined that if an employee is scheduled to perform a safety-sensitive function at specified intervals, e.g., every three or four months, then he or she can be randomly tested only during those times. If an employee could be called on to perform a safety-sensitive function at any time, then the employee must be subject to random drug testing. Note that the employee may be randomly tested for alcohol just before, during, or just after the performance of a safety-sensitive function.

The rules apply to persons who perform safety-sensitive functions, including controlling dispatch or movement of a revenue service vehicle. 49 CFR 653.7 and 654.7. You have advised FTA that it is the opinion of the Sacramento Regional Transit District that its fare inspection officers are workers performing a safety-sensitive function subject to drug and alcohol testing. I agree with that opinion.

If you have further questions regarding this issue, please contact Michael Connelly of my staff at (202) 366-4011.

Very truly yours,
(Signed)
Patrick W. Reilly
Chief Counsel