Mr. Tom Campbell
5516 Colfax Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55419

Dear Mr. Campbell:

Thank you for your February 3, 2000, letter, in which you seek clarification of the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) drug and alcohol testing regulations, 49 CFR Parts 653 and 654. Specifically, you ask about the applicability of the rules to Detroit Diesel of Emporia, Kansas, a company that ultimately performs overhaul/rebuild work for your employer, Metro Transit, an FTA grant recipient.

In January 1999, FTA amended the definition of safety-sensitive function at 49 CFR 653.7 and 654.7 to include persons (contractors as well as direct employees) that overhaul and/or rebuild engines, parts, and vehicles for FTA grant recipients; previously, persons that overhauled and/or rebuilt were not covered by the rules. The general rule, then, is that contractors that perform overhaul and/or rebuilding maintenance for a FTA grant recipient must comply with the drug and alcohol testing regulations.

In a March 1, 2000, teleconference between members of the FTA staff and personnel from Metro Transit, it was clarified that Detroit Diesel was, in fact, not a contractor to Metro Transit, but rather a subcontractor. Metro Transit contracts with Interstate Automotive for a variety of maintenance services. Interstate Automotive, in turn, directs at least some of that maintenance work, including overhaul and rebuilding, to other businesses, including Detroit Diesel in Emporia.

The FTA has determined that a recipient's maintenance subcontractors are not subject to the regulations. A recipient's maintenance contractor is solely responsible to the recipient for the maintenance work performed, and the intent of the rules is to cover only that contractor. The rules apply to a recipient's contractor performing maintenance work on revenue service vehicles or equipment, but do not apply to any subcontractors providing such services for that contractor. We emphasize, however, that the rules would apply if the subcontractors were used to perform maintenance work solely for the purpose of circumventing the FTA's drug and alcohol testing rules.

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

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