49 U.S.C. § 31306 — Alcohol and controlled substances testing

(a) Definition — In this section and in section 31306a, "controlled substance" means any substance the Secretary of Transportation names, drawn from the list in section 102 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. (b) Testing Program for Operators of Commercial Motor Vehicles — For the sake of safety, the Secretary must write rules requiring motor carriers to test drivers for illegal controlled substance use before hiring them, when there's reasonable suspicion, at random, and after accidents — and to test for illegal alcohol use on reasonable suspicion, at random, and after accidents. Those rules must let carriers also test for alcohol before hiring, and let carriers use hair testing instead of urine testing both for preemployment drug tests and for random drug tests, if the driver was hair-tested when hired. When it's in the interest of safety, the Secretary may also set up regular, recurring testing for alcohol or drugs. In writing these rules, the Secretary must require post-accident testing whenever an accident involves a death; may require it for other serious accidents involving injury or major property damage; and must exempt drivers with sincere religious beliefs against cutting or removing hair from hair testing. (c) Testing and Laboratory Requirements — The Secretary must set requirements that protect drivers' privacy as much as practical when collecting samples; that follow the 1988 federal health guidelines (and later updates) for urine testing, and separate technical guidelines for hair testing — covering full lab standards, best available technology, strict chain-of-custody rules, the minimum list of substances tested for, how labs get reviewed and certified or decertified, and the cutoff levels for hair tests; that require a lab doing this testing to be able to both screen and confirm results itself; that require any positive result to be confirmed by a scientifically reliable method giving a quantitative reading; that require each sample to be split, sealed, and labeled in front of the driver, with part of it kept safe from tampering so a driver with a positive confirmed result can ask, within 3 days of hearing the result, for a second confirming test at a different certified lab; that safeguard alcohol testing of breath and body fluids, developed together with the Secretary of Health and Human Services; that keep test results and medical information confidential (except alcohol and drug information), without blocking the normal use of results to impose sanctions; and that select employees for testing through fair, nondiscriminatory methods so no one is singled out for different treatment. (d) Testing as Part of Medical Examination — The Secretary may let this testing happen as part of the regular medical exam already required for certain drivers under federal regulations. (e) Rehabilitation — The Secretary must set up requirements for rehabilitation programs that identify and offer treatment to drivers found to have illegally used alcohol or drugs, and the Secretary decides when a driver must take part. This doesn't stop a motor carrier from running such a program together with another carrier. (f) Sanctions — The Secretary must decide the right sanctions for a driver who tests positive, through a confirmed test, for illegal alcohol or drug use, but who is not found to have actually been "under the influence" as this chapter separately defines it. (g) Effect on State and Local Government Regulations — A state or local government cannot keep or create a rule that conflicts with the regulations under this section. But a rule under this section does not override a state's criminal law that punishes reckless conduct causing death, injury, or property damage. (h) International Obligations and Foreign Laws — In writing these regulations, the Secretary must keep them consistent with U.S. international obligations, and must take other countries' relevant laws and regulations into account. (i) Other Regulations Allowed — This section does not stop the Secretary from keeping, amending, or adding to a regulation on alcohol or drug use by commercial motor vehicle employees that was already in place before October 28, 1991. (j) Application of Penalties — This section does not replace any other penalty that already applies to a commercial motor vehicle operator under this chapter or any other law.