§382.405 Access to facilities and records.

Question 1: May employers who are subject to other Federal agencies’ regulations, such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, etc., allow those agencies to view or have access to test records required to be prepared and maintained by parts 40 and/or 382?

Guidance: Federal agencies, other than those specifically provided for in §382.405, may have access to an employer’s driver test records maintained in accordance with parts 40 or 382 only when a specific, contemporaneous authorization for release of the test records is allowed by the driver.

Question 2: Must a motor carrier respond to a third-party administrator’s request (as directed by the specific, written consent of the driver authorizing release of the information on behalf of an entity such as a motor carrier) to release driver information that is contained in records required to be maintained under §382.401?

Guidance: Yes. However, the third-party administrator must comply with the conditions established concerning confidentiality, test results, and record keeping as stipulated in the ‘‘Notice: Guidance on the Role of Consortia and Third-Party Administrators (C/TPA) in U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs’’ published on July 25, 1995, in Volume 60, No. 142, in the Federal Register. Motor carriers must comply completely with 49 CFR 382.413 and 382.405 as well as any applicable regulatory guidance. Please note that written consent must be obtained from the employee each time part 382 information is provided to a C/TPA, the consent must be specific to the individual or entity to whom information is being provided, and that blanket or non-specific consents to release information are not allowed.

Question 3: May employers allow unions or the National Labor Relations Board to view or have access to test records required to be prepared and maintained by parts 40 and/or 382, such as the list(s) of all employees actually tested?

Guidance: Unions and the National Labor Relations Board may have access to the list(s) of all employees in the random pool or the list(s) of all employees actually tested. The dates of births and SSNs must be removed from these lists prior to release. However, access to the employee’s negative or positive test records maintained in accordance with parts 40 or 382 can be granted only when a specific, contemporaneous authorization for release of the test records is allowed by the driver.

Question 4: May an employer (motor carrier) disclose information required to be maintained under 49 CFRpart 382 (pertaining to a driver) to the driver or the decision maker in a lawsuit, grievance, or other proceeding (including, but not limited to, worker’s compensation, unemployment compensation) initiated by or on behalf of the driver, without the driver’s written consent?

Guidance: Yes, a motor carrier has discretion without the driver’s consent as provided by §382.405(g), to disclose information to the driver or the decision maker in a lawsuit, grievance, or other proceeding (including, but not limited to, worker’s compensation, unemployment compensation) initiated by or on behalf of the driver concerning prohibited conduct under 49 CFR part 382.

Also, an employer (motor carrier) may be required to provide the test result information pursuant to other Federal statutes or an order of a competent Federal jurisdiction, such as an administrative subpoena, as allowed by §382.405(a) without the driver’s written consent.

Question 5: What is meant by the term ‘‘as required by law’’ in relation to State or local laws for disclosure of public records relating to a driver’s testing information and test results?

Guidance: The term ‘‘as required by law’’ in §382.405(a) means Federal statutes or an order of a competent Federal jurisdiction, such as an administrative subpoena. The Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991, and the implementing regulations in part 382, require that test results and medical information be confidential to the maximum extent possible. (Pub. L. 102-143, Title V, section 5(a)(1), 105 Stat. 959, codified at 49 U.S.C. 31306). In addition, the Act preempts inconsistent State or local government laws, rules, regulations, ordinances, standards, or orders that are inconsistent with the regulations issued under the Act.

The FHWA believes the only State and local officials that may have access to the driver’s records under §382.405(d) and 49 U.S.C. 31306, without the driver’s written consent, are State or local government officials that have regulatory authority over an employer’s (motor carrier’s) alcohol and drug testing programs for purposes of enforcement of part 382. Such State and local agencies conduct employer (motor carrier) compliance reviews under the FHWA’s Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) on the FHWA’s behalf in accordance with 49 CFR part 350.