
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC2473c]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                   CHAPTER 26--NATIONAL SPACE PROGRAM
 
    SUBCHAPTER II--COORDINATION OF AERONAUTICAL AND SPACE ACTIVITIES
 
Sec. 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.

(Pub. L. 102-195, Sec. 21, Dec. 9, 1991, 105 Stat. 1616.)

                          Codification

    Section was enacted as part of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1992, and not as part of 
the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 which is classified 
principally to this chapter.
