Who is covered:

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) oversees compliance by employers in the aviation industry. From large corporations to smaller companies, adherence to the FAA Drug and Alcohol Testing Program is critical to ensure the continued safety of commercial aviation. Therefore, all persons performing safety-sensitive functions in the aviation industry are required to be trained. Safety-sensitive functions include:

• Flight crew member duties
• Flight attendant duties
• Flight instruction duties
• Aircraft dispatcher duties
• Aircraft maintenance or preventive maintenance duties
• Ground security coordinator duties
• Aviation screening duties
• Air traffic controller duties (at facilities not operated by the FAA or by or under contract to the United States military)
• Operations control specialist duties

Today, over 9 million commercial transportation workers under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) are required to participate in drug and alcohol testing programs. The chart below shows the breakdown of safety-sensitive transportation workers in various transportation industries.

INDUSTRY MODE SAFETY-SENSITIVE WORKERS

Highway   FHWA 8,000,000     Aviation   FAA 450,000     Mass Transit   FTA 273,300     Pipeline   RSPA 190,000     Maritime   USCG 150,000     Railroad   FRA 111,300     TOTAL 9,174,600

Data presented by the Director, Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance, Department of Transportation at a DOT Conference in Phoenix, Arizona on 4/10/2013.