On April 23, 2019 (84 FR 16770), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published a final rule in the federal register making minor technical corrections to the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST) in 49 CFR 40, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 14 CFR Part 120, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in 49 CFR 655, and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in 49 CFR 199 governing drug testing for safety-sensitive employees to ensure consistency with the recent amendments made to the DOT’s regulation, “Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs,” which added requirements to test for oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone to DOT-regulated drug testing programs. The changes to the Department’s regulation make it necessary to refer to these substances, as well as the previously covered drugs morphine, 6-acetylmorphine, and codeine, by the more inclusive term “opioids,” rather than “opiates.” This rule amends the term in the FAA, FTA and PHMSA regulations to ensure that all DOT drug testing rules are consistent with one another and with the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs. In addition, this rule makes a conforming amendment to include the term “opioids” in the wording of the Department’s annual information collection requirement and clarifications to section 40.26 and Appendix H regarding the requirement for employers to follow the Department’s instructions for the annual information collection. This rule is effective on April 23, 2019.

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DOT 04-23-2019 final drug testing safety personnel