Story ID: 
California Repair Station Faces FAA Penalty
By: AIN Staff
Caption: Leading Edge failed to conduct drug-and-alcohol tests for employees in safety-sensitive positions, contends the FAA.
Word Count: 185
The FAA has proposed a $380,600 fine against Leading Edge Aviation Services of Victorville, Calif., for violating federal drug-and-alcohol testing regulations on multiple occasions. The agency contends the aircraft repair station failed to include 29 people, hired into safety-sensitive positions, in its random drug-and-alcohol testing pools. Some employees missed being tested for a period of months, while others were never tested during the entire period of their employment.

The FAA also alleges Leading Edge Aviation Services failed to ask 18 safety-sensitive employees whether they had ever tested positive or refused to take a DOT pre‑employment drug or alcohol test at other companies they’d worked for during the previous two years. The agency further contends Leading Edge hired six people for safety-sensitive positions before it verified the results of pre-employment drug tests and that one of those employees performed safety-sensitive work although the company never verified a negative pre-employment drug test result. Finally, the FAA alleges Leading Edge mixed up the use of DOT and non-DOT forms while conducting some tests.

The agency and the company have communicated about these matters.