Article 73, Section 11

What are my rights under Article 73, Section 11?

Article 73, Section 11 of the various NATCA/FAA Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) allows employees the right to receive conducted drug test results within “a reasonable period of time, normally five work days, of receipt of the results by the Drug Program Coordinator (DPC).” The failure to do so by the Agency may be grounds for a grievance.

NATCA successfully negotiated this contractual provision because employees who are required to undergo substance testing have a right to know the results within a reasonable amount of time. Unlike alcohol testing where the test provides immediate results and the employees find out on the spot whether it came back positive or negative, drug testing is a lengthier process. A urine sample is sent to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) contracted testing laboratory which reports the results back to the DOT/FAA. Once the FAA obtains these results, the provision in Article 73, Section 11, as bargained by the Parties, obligates the Agency to provide the results to each employee tested normally within five workdays.

A Drug Program Coordinator (DPC) is assigned to each FAA region and is responsible for managing the drug and alcohol testing program within his/her jurisdiction. As part of their responsibilities, the DPC schedules the drug testing collectors and the breath alcohol technicians to the facilities where the Testing Designated Position (TDP) employees are located. Once drug testing is completed, the DPC is then responsible for notifying the employees in a confidential manner of the results, normally within five workdays. This notification, however, has not been consistently applied by the Agency. In some cases, the turnaround time has exceeded three months, making it unacceptable and a basis for a grievance.

While the FAA expeditiously processes the positive test results, each employee subject to testing has a right to know his/her test result – even if it’s negative – as negotiated by the Union in Article 73, Section 11. If you are faced with the situation where you have not received a timely notice of your test results as explained above, contact your facility representative and/or your regional vice president for further assistance.