Mr. Ron Thornton
President, Amalgamated Transit Union 758
10828 Gravelly Lake Drive SW, Suite #202
Tacoma, Washington 98499

Dear Mr. Thornton:

Thank you for your August 24, 1998, letter in which you seek clarification of the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) drug and alcohol testing regulations. Your concern addresses the role of substance abuse professionals (SAPs) under the FTA's rules. Your letter includes a memo from the Pierce Transit Human Resources Director suggesting that those rules implicitly require a recovering employee to allow an SAP to speak with the employee's spouse.

The rules note that choice of an SAP "shall be made in accordance with employer/employee agreement and employer policies." 49 CFR 653.37. Once an SAP has been chosen, the FTA does not involve itself in the particular methods an SAP may employ in reaching his or her goal of employee recovery; instead, the FTA defers to the SAP's competence and use of professional standards of practice.

It is not correct to state that the FTA rules implicitly allow an SAP to make contact with an employee's spouse without seeking the employee's permission. If an SAP wishes to speak with an employee's spouse, the SAP should do so because it is "standard practice." Whatever action an SAP takes in relation to a covered employee must be consensual or expressly authorized by the FTA rules.

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

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