FAA Drug and/or Alcohol Monitoring Program and the HIMS Program: Airmen who have a regulatory diagnosis of alcohol dependence or abuse may require evaluation and monitoring before they can obtain a medical certificate. Judge Geraghty noted that there was evidence the tops were off the collection bottles when the airman entered the testing facility, and he noted: How the contaminant got into the particular samples given by the respondent is not something I need to resolve here. To learn how to get your new FAA-mandated testing program started, review the program implementation information (PDF) for a part 119 certificate holder. Two weeks before the random drug tests, Petersen had been tested for drugs and was negative for cocaine. Box 25810 (a) No person may act or attempt to act as a crewmember of a civil aircraft. However, because the scientific testimony in, indicated that a hair sample test may not detect a single instance of drug use, the judge may be inclined to grant more weight to the urine test than the hair sample test as was the case involving Judge Pope in, The cases and authorities discussed in this article demonstrate the troubling and. 40.193(e) is instructive: For purposes of this paragraph, a medical condition includes an ascertainable physiological condition (e.g., a urinary system dysfunction) or a medically documented pre-existing psychological disorder, but does not include unsupported assertions of situational anxiety or dehydration.72. Refusal to submit to a drug test means an employee, including, but not limited to that described in 49 C.F.R. 4tpU&' See Q8 on the BasicMed FAQ. A number of definitions are incorporated into the drug testing rules. Federal Aviation Administration Security and Investigations Division AMC-700; P.O. Edit: January. not recall telling him that he could not leave the lobby and she did not remember telling him he could not leave the building. It was an important issue for the ALJ in the case. Since the sample was split, the airman had the remaining sample submitted to Lab Corp in San Diego, California which again found a positive test result for cocaine. 91.17 Alcohol or drugs. He orally advised the donors to wash their hands. hydraulic fluid to which he was exposed on the day of the incident could have caused the positive test result for cocaine metabolites. 120.7(o) (definition of refusal to submit to a drug test including engaging in conduct under 49 C.F.R. He only does medicals, not regular practice with medicals as a cash side business, and is an expert. The MRO is not required to refer the airman to an urologist. Petersens test results indicated the sample had been contaminated and he was releasedfrom employment.43 Petersen had two drug tests subsequent to the random test at work, and both of the tests were negative for drugs.44, The FAA brought an emergency order of revocation on the theory Petersen refused to submit to a drug test by knowingly contaminating the test.45 According to Dr. Kuntz, the toxicologist, the Gas Chromatography (GCMS) test was positive for cocaine, but additional testing required to validate the results could not be accomplished because of the contamination.46. In light of the foregoing, the NTSB affirmed the decision of Judge Pope revoking the airmans airline transport pilots certificate and his medical certificate. the Administrator brought a revocation action against the airmans airline transport certificate and his first class medical certificate because he allegedly left the drug testing site without having been told by the Sample Collector that his leaving the site would be considered a refusal to test. The Sample Collector, Mr. Jordan, had accomplished between 20 or 25 tests earlier in the day. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY - FORMAL HIMS CASES, For information on the Industry Drug and Alcohol Testing Program see Aviation Industry Antidrug and Alcohol Misuse Prevention Programs, Page last modified: November 10, 2022 2:20:04 PM EST, Federal Aviation Administration On December 9, 2003, the Medical Review Officer, Dr. Wayne Keller, verified the positive test result.124 Since the sample was split, the airman had the remaining sample submitted to Lab Corp in San Diego, California which again found a positive test result for cocaine.125 From the time the airman was notified on December 5, 2003, up to and including the date of the notice of emergency order of revocation, the airman did not provide any letter or explanation from a doctor or a dentist that could explain the positive test result or that reverse the positive result to a negative result.126, The airman asserted as an affirmative defense a hair test result taken two weeks and ten days after the urine test; and the hair test results demonstrated no signs of drugs in his system at the time of the urine test.127, At the hearing, Dr. Keller, the Medical Review Officer, testified that the federal testing protocols were followed.128 Dr. Keller further testified that he offered TaYlor the opportunity to provide a medical explanation for the positive results.129 In response to Dr.Kellers request for an explanation, Taylor told Dr. Keller he used vitamins, PABA, ephedra, poppy seed food products, flu and pneumonia vaccinations, and he was exposed to hydraulic fluid at the time of the landing incident.130 However, Taylor never provided Dr. Keller with any documentation or medical evidence to show that any of those things could have resulted in the positive urine test for cocaine.131, The Administrator presented the testimony of Dr. Yale Caplan who stated that hair sample analysis has not yet been approved for use in federal drug testing programs.132 Dr. Caplan testified that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) proposing to allow testing of hair, sweat, and oral fluids in addition to urine which is already authorized by the Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs.133 The HHS NPRM provided that, if adopted, the new rules would permit agencies to use hair testing for pre-employment, random, return-to-duty, or follow up testing.134 The NTSB, while considering the status of the HHS NPRM, noted that it did not mention hair testing as an appropriate method for reasonable suspicion/cause testing or post-accident testing.135 Dr.Caplan testified that because a ninety-day hair growth was the standard sample size, a limited or single instance of drug use during that period would be so diluted that it would be undetected by such a test.136 In light of the science on the subject matter, it was the opinion of Dr. Caplan that a positive urine test followed by a negative hair analysis test were not necessarily inconsistent, unless the airman was a chronic user.137 The NTSB, in affirming the initial decision of Judge Pope noted that the airman had not presented any evidence to show his sample may have been contaminated or mixed up or any scientifically reliable to support his theory that exposure to hydraulic fluid or PABA could have caused a false positive in a urine test for cocaine metabolite.138 The Board noted that Judge Pope reasoned that the negative hair test results offered by the airman were not sufficient offset the urine test results.139 Further, Judge Pope found the testimony of the airman was not credible and entirely unconvincing to the extent the airman testified he did not know how the cocaine got into his urine.140. As to the case law cited by the parties in this case, none of the cases cited stand for the proposition that the Administrator is asking me to follow, that I need only look to the regulation as to whether or not the respondent is aware of the regulation and whether he complied with it. On January 31,2022, the FAAs Amended Prompt Settlement Policy for Legal Enforcement Actions Involving Medical Certificate Related Fraud, Intentional Falsification, Reproduction, or Alteration (i.e., amended prompt settlement policy) went into effect. You must send or fax these copies to the MRO and DER within 24 hours or the next business day., An airman who has provided a sample of less than 45mL of urine that was discarded and over a three hour period was unsuccessful in providing a 45mL sample will then be directed by the MRO of the facility within five days of the evaluation to report to a licensed physician, acceptable to the MRO, who has expertise in the medical issues raised by the employees failure to provide a sufficient specimen. The burden of proof on that, I believe, rests with the government. In order to overcome the FAAsorder of revocation, Dr. Pasternak had to expend considerable resources including two appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers in America also recently named Doug to their prestigious 2023 " Lawyer of the Year " list for Houston DWI defense. The intent of the regulation is clear, to deprive airmen of the ability to defend themselves in shy bladder cases if they cannot provide a 45mL specimen of urine within three hours. A conviction after November 29, 1990, for the violation of any federal or state statute relating to the operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated by alcohol or a drug, while impaired by alcohol or a drug, or while under the influence of alcohol or a drug. Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Careers . Then, Tullos confronted the Sample Collector in the presence of another witness and when Tullos asked her point blank if she told him his leaving the facility would constitute a refusal to test, the Sample Collector said: Tullos further testified that he had not seen the regulation that if he left the test site that would be considered a refusal. An official website of the United States government. He says that he did not know. C. Single event less than 5 years ago OR Single event at any time with Unknown BAC, Refused BAC/breathalyzer or the AME has no concerns, BAC .15 or above The AME must complete the . Furthermore, the Board, in commenting on hair testing noted that the HHS NPRM would permit agencies to use hair testing as a supplement to existing urine testing programs. What happens if I fail to report an alcohol- and/or drug-related MVA and the FAA finds out about it? 1 0 obj The Sample Collector, Ms. Ebersol, was a high school graduate with a little bit of college. Alcohol concentration means grams of alcohol per deciliter of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath. This is not an innocent or unforeseen mistake on the part of the FAA in promulgating its drug testing rules. 120.7(o) [refusal to submit to a drug test]. The first option is that the referral physician can make a determination that a medical condition with a high degree of probability could have precluded the employee from providing a sufficient amount of urine.68 If the referral physician finds that a medical condition prevented the provision of the requisite volume of urine, then Step 6 on the CCF is checked, as Test Cancelled, and the MRO signs and dates the CCF.69, The second option for the referral physician is to conclude that the airman refused to submit to the test because: There is not an adequate basis for determining that a medical condition has, or with a high degree of probability could have, prohibited the employee from providing a sufficient amount of urine.70 If the referral physician makes the determination that a medical condition was not the cause of the inability to urinate and that the airman refused the test, then the MRO, if he accepts the recommendation, must check the Refusal to Test box or Other box on Step 6 of Copy 2 of the CCF and note the reason next to the Other box on the Remarks lines, and then sign and date the CCF.71.
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