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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 2473c. Drug and alcohol testing
(a) Short title
This section may be cited as the "Civil Space Employee Testing
Act of 1991".
(b) Findings
The Congress finds that -
(1) alcohol abuse and illegal drug use pose significant dangers
to the safety and welfare of the Nation;
(2) the success of the United States civil space program is
contingent upon the safe and successful development and
deployment of the many varied components of that program;
(3) the greatest efforts must be expended to eliminate the
abuse of alcohol and use of illegal drugs, whether on duty or off
duty, by those individuals who are involved in the positions
affecting safety, security, and national security;
(4) the use of alcohol and illegal drugs has been demonstrated
to adversely affect the performance of individuals, and has been
proven to have been a critical factor in accidents in the
workplace;
(5) the testing of uniformed personnel of the Armed Forces has
shown that the most effective deterrent to abuse of alcohol and
use of illegal drugs is increased testing, including random
testing;
(6) adequate safeguards can be implemented to ensure that
testing for abuse of alcohol or use of illegal drugs is performed
in a manner which protects an individual's right of privacy,
ensures that no individual is harassed by being treated
differently from other individuals, and ensures that no
individual's reputation or career development is unduly
threatened or harmed; and
(7) rehabilitation is a critical component of any testing
program for abuse of alcohol or use of illegal drugs, and should
be made available to individuals, as appropriate.
(c) Testing program
(1) The Administrator shall establish a program applicable to
employees of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
whose duties include responsibility for safety-sensitive, security,
or national security functions. Such program shall provide for
preemployment, reasonable suspicion, random, and post-accident
testing for use, in violation of applicable law or Federal
regulation, of alcohol or a controlled substance. The Administrator
may also prescribe regulations, as the Administrator considers
appropriate in the interest of safety, security, and national
security, for the conduct of periodic recurring testing of such
employees for such use in violation of applicable law or Federal
regulation.
(2) The Administrator shall, in the interest of safety, security,
and national security, prescribe regulations within 18 months after
December 9, 1991. Such regulations shall establish a program which
requires National Aeronautics and Space Administration contractors
to conduct preemployment, reasonable suspicion, random, and
post-accident testing of contractor employees responsible for
safety-sensitive, security, or national security functions (as
determined by the Administrator) for use, in violation of
applicable law or Federal regulation, of alcohol or a controlled
substance. The Administrator may also prescribe regulations, as the
Administrator considers appropriate in the interest of safety,
security, and national security, for the conduct of periodic
recurring testing of such employees for such use in violation of
applicable law or Federal regulation.
(3) In prescribing regulations under the programs required by
this subsection, the Administrator shall require, as the
Administrator considers appropriate, the suspension,
disqualification, or dismissal of any employee to which paragraph
(1) or (2) applies, in accordance with the provisions of this
section, in any instance where a test conducted and confirmed under
this section indicates that such employee has used, in violation of
applicable law or Federal regulation, alcohol or a controlled
substance.
(d) Prohibition on service
(1) No individual who is determined by the Administrator under
this section to have used, in violation of applicable law or
Federal regulation, alcohol or a controlled substance after
December 9, 1991, shall serve as a National Aeronautics and Space
Administration employee with responsibility for safety-sensitive,
security, or national security functions (as determined by the
Administrator), or as a National Aeronautics and Space
Administration contractor employee with such responsibility, unless
such individual has completed a program of rehabilitation described
in subsection (e) of this section.
(2) Any such individual determined by the Administrator under
this section to have used, in violation of applicable law or
Federal regulation, alcohol or a controlled substance after
December 9, 1991, who -
(A) engaged in such use while on duty;
(B) prior to such use had undertaken or completed a
rehabilitation program described in subsection (e) of this
section;
(C) following such determination refuses to undertake such a
rehabilitation program; or
(D) following such determination fails to complete such a
rehabilitation program,
shall not be permitted to perform the duties which such individual
performed prior to the date of such determination.
(e) Program for rehabilitation
(1) The Administrator shall prescribe regulations setting forth
requirements for rehabilitation programs which at a minimum provide
for the identification and opportunity for treatment of employees
referred to in subsection (c) of this section in need of assistance
in resolving problems with the use, in violation of applicable law
or Federal regulation, of alcohol or a controlled substance. Each
contractor is encouraged to make such a program available to all of
its employees in addition to those employees referred to in
subsection (c)(2) of this section. The Administrator shall
determine the circumstances under which such employees shall be
required to participate in such a program. Nothing in this
subsection shall preclude any National Aeronautics and Space
Administration contractor from establishing a program under this
subsection in cooperation with any other such contractor.
(2) The Administrator shall establish and maintain a
rehabilitation program which at a minimum provides for the
identification and opportunity for treatment of those employees of
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration whose duties
include responsibility for safety-sensitive, security, or national
security functions who are in need of assistance in resolving
problems with the use of alcohol or controlled substances.
(f) Procedures for testing
In establishing the programs required under subsection (c) of
this section, the Administrator shall develop requirements which
shall -
(1) promote, to the maximum extent practicable, individual
privacy in the collection of specimen samples;
(2) with respect to laboratories and testing procedures for
controlled substances, incorporate the Department of Health and
Human Services scientific and technical guidelines dated April
11, 1988, and any subsequent amendments thereto, including
mandatory guidelines which -
(A) establish comprehensive standards for all aspects of
laboratory controlled substances testing and laboratory
procedures to be applied in carrying out this section,
including standards which require the use of the best available
technology for ensuring the full reliability and accuracy of
controlled substances tests and strict procedures governing the
chain of custody of specimen samples collected for controlled
substances testing;
(B) establish the minimum list of controlled substances for
which individuals may be tested; and
(C) establish appropriate standards and procedures for
periodic review of laboratories and criteria for certification
and revocation of certification of laboratories to perform
controlled substances testing in carrying out this section;
(3) require that all laboratories involved in the controlled
substances testing of any individual under this section shall
have the capability and facility, at such laboratory, of
performing screening and confirmation tests;
(4) provide that all tests which indicate the use, in violation
of applicable law or Federal regulation, of alcohol or a
controlled substance by any individual shall be confirmed by a
scientifically recognized method of testing capable of providing
quantitative data regarding alcohol or a controlled substance;
(5) provide that each specimen sample be subdivided, secured,
and labelled in the presence of the tested individual and that a
portion thereof be retained in a secure manner to prevent the
possibility of tampering, so that in the event the individual's
confirmation test results are positive the individual has an
opportunity to have the retained portion assayed by a
confirmation test done independently at a second certified
laboratory if the individual requests the independent test within
3 days after being advised of the results of the initial
confirmation test;
(6) ensure appropriate safeguards for testing to detect and
quantify alcohol in breath and body fluid samples, including
urine and blood, through the development of regulations as may be
necessary and in consultation with the Department of Health and
Human Services;
(7) provide for the confidentiality of test results and medical
information of employees; and
(8) ensure that employees are selected for tests by
nondiscriminatory and impartial methods, so that no employee is
harassed by being treated differently from other employees in
similar circumstances.
(g) Effect on other laws and regulations
(1) No State or local government shall adopt or have in effect
any law, rule, regulation, ordinance, standard, or order that is
inconsistent with the regulations promulgated under this section.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict the
discretion of the Administrator to continue in force, amend, or
further supplement any regulations issued before December 9, 1991,
that govern the use of alcohol and controlled substances by
National Aeronautics and Space Administration employees with
responsibility for safety-sensitive, security, and national
security functions (as determined by the Administrator), or by
National Aeronautics and Space Administration contractor employees
with such responsibility.
(h) "Controlled substance" defined
For the purposes of this section, the term "controlled substance"
means any substance under section 802(6) of title 21 specified by
the Administrator.
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