10 CFR 26.63, Suitable Inquiry

Suitable inquiry

a

(a) In order to grant authorization, licensees and other entities shall ensure that a suitable inquiry has been conducted, on a best effort basis, to verify the individual's self-disclosed information and determine whether any potentially disqualifying FFD information is available, except if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The individual previously held authorization under this part;

(2) The licensee or other entity has verified that the individual's last period of authorization was terminated favorably; and

(3) The individual has been subject to a behavioral observation program that includes arrest reporting, which meets the requirements of this part, throughout the period of interruption.

b

(b) To meet the suitable inquiry requirement, licensees and other entities may rely on the information that other licensees and entities who are subject to this subpart have gathered for previous periods of authorization. Licensees and other entities may also rely on those licensees' and entities' determinations of fitness that were conducted under § 26.189, as well as their reviews and resolutions of potentially disqualifying FFD information, for previous periods of authorization.

c

(c) The licensee or other entity shall ensure that the suitable inquiry has been conducted, on a best effort basis, by questioning former employers, and the employer by whom the individual claims to have been employed on the day before he or she completes the employment history, if an employment history is required under § 26.61.

(1) For the claimed employment period, the suitable inquiry must ascertain the reason for termination, eligibility for rehire, and other information that could reflect on the individual's fitness to be granted authorization.

(2) If the claimed employment was military service, the licensee or other entity who is conducting the suitable inquiry shall request a characterization of service, reason for separation, and any disciplinary actions related to potentially disqualifying FFD information. If the individual's last duty station cannot provide this information, the licensee or other entity may accept a hand-carried copy of the DD 214 presented by the individual which on face value appears to be legitimate. The licensee or other entity may also accept a copy of a DD 214 provided by the custodian of military records.

(3) If a company, previous employer, or educational institution to whom the licensee or other entity has directed a request for information refuses to provide information or indicates an inability or unwillingness to provide information within 3 business days of the request, the licensee or other entity shall document this refusal, inability, or unwillingness in the licensee's or other entity's record of the investigation, and obtain a confirmation of employment or educational enrollment and attendance from at least one alternate source, with suitable inquiry questions answered to the best of the alternate source's ability. This alternate source may not have been previously used by the licensee or other entity to obtain information about the individual's character. If the licensee or other entity uses an alternate source because employer information is not forthcoming within 3 business days of the request, the licensee or other entity need not delay granting authorization to wait for any employer response, but shall evaluate and document the response if it is received.

d

(d) When any licensee or other entity in § 26.3(a) through (d) is legitimately seeking the information required for an authorization decision under this subpart and has obtained a signed release from the subject individual authorizing the disclosure of information, any licensee or other entity who is subject to this part shall disclose whether the subject individual's authorization was denied or terminated unfavorably as a result of a violation of an FFD policy and shall make available the information on which the denial or unfavorable termination of authorization was based, including, but not limited to, drug or alcohol test results, treatment and followup testing requirements or other results from a determination of fitness, and any other information that is relevant to an authorization decision.

e

(e) In conducting a suitable inquiry, a licensee or other entity may obtain information and documents by electronic means, including, but not limited to, telephone, facsimile, or e-mail. The licensee or other entity shall make a record of the contents of the telephone call and shall retain that record, and any documents or electronic files obtained electronically, under §§ 26.711 and 26.713(a), (b), and (c), as applicable.

f

(f) For individuals about whom no potentially disqualifying FFD information is known (or about whom potentially disqualifying FFD information is known, but it has been resolved by a licensee or other entity who is subject to this subpart) at the time at which the suitable inquiry is initiated, the licensee or other entity shall ensure that a suitable inquiry has been conducted as follows:

(1) Initial authorization. The period of the suitable inquiry must be the past 3 years or since the individual's eighteenth birthday, whichever is shorter. For the 1-year period immediately preceding the date on which the individual applies for authorization, the licensee or other entity shall ensure that the suitable inquiry has been conducted with every employer, regardless of the length of employment. For the remaining 2-year period, the licensee or other entity shall ensure that the suitable inquiry has been conducted with the employer by whom the individual claims to have been employed the longest within each calendar month, if the individual claims employment during the given calendar month.

(2) Authorization update. The period of the suitable inquiry must be the period since authorization was terminated. For the 1-year period immediately preceding the date on which the individual applies for authorization, the licensee or other entity shall ensure that the suitable inquiry has been conducted with every employer, regardless of the length of employment. For the remaining period since authorization was terminated, the licensee or other entity shall ensure that the suitable inquiry has been conducted with the employer by whom the individual claims to have been employed the longest within each calendar month, if the individual claims employment during the given calendar month.

(3) Authorization reinstatement after an interruption of more than 30 days. The period of the suitable inquiry must be the period since authorization was terminated. The licensee or other entity shall ensure that the suitable inquiry has been conducted with the employer by whom the individual claims to have been employed the longest within the calendar month, if the individual claims employment during the given calendar month.

Federal Register

[[[FR::http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=2008_register&page=17190&position=1%7C 73 FR 17190 Mar. 31, 2008]]]

External Links

[[URL::http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part026/part026-0063.html%7CNRC website 10 CFR 26.63]]

v t e Code of Federal Regulations
Title 10 Part 26 - FITNESS FOR DUTY PROGRAMS
10 CFR: 1 2 4 5 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 19 20 21 25 26 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 39 40 50 51 52 54 55 60 61 62 63 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 81 95 100 140 150 160 170 171
1, Administrative Provisions, Purpose 3, Scope 4, FFD program applicability to categories of individuals 5, Definitions 7, Interpretations 8, Information collection requirements: OMB approval 9, Specific exemptions 11, Communications 21, Program Elements, Fitness-for-duty program 23, Performance objectives 25, Reserved 27, Written policy and procedures 29, Training 31, Drug and alcohol testing 33, Behavioral observation 35, Employee assistance programs 37, Protection of information 39, Review process for fitness-for-duty policy violations 41, Audits and corrective action 51, Granting and Maintaining Authorization, Applicability 53, General provisions 55, Initial authorization 57, Authorization update 59, Authorization reinstatement 61, Self-disclosure and employment history 63, Suitable inquiry 65, Pre-access drug and alcohol testing 67, Random drug and alcohol testing of individuals who have applied for authorization 69, Authorization with potentially disqualifying fitness-for-duty information 71, Maintaining authorization 73, Management Actions and Sanctions To Be Imposed, Applicability 75, Sanctions 77, Management actions regarding possible impairment 81, Collecting Specimens for Testing, Purpose and applicability 83, Specimens to be collected 85, Collector qualifications and responsibilities 87, Collection sites 89, Preparing to collect specimens for testing 91, Acceptable devices for conducting initial and confirmatory tests for alcohol and methods of use 93, Preparing for alcohol testing 95, Conducting an initial test for alcohol using a breath specimen 97, Conducting an initial test for alcohol using a specimen of oral fluids 99, Determining the need for a confirmatory test for alcohol 101, Conducting a confirmatory test for alcohol 103, Determining a confirmed positive test result for alcohol 105, Preparing for urine collection 107, Collecting a urine specimen 109, Urine specimen quantity 111, Checking the acceptability of the urine specimen 113, Splitting the urine specimen 115, Collecting a urine specimen under direct observation 117, Preparing urine specimens for storage and shipping 119, Determining "shy" bladder 121, Licensee Testing Facilities, Purpose 123, Testing facility capabilities 125, Licensee testing facility personnel 127, Procedures 129, Assuring specimen security, chain of custody, and preservation 131, Cutoff levels for validity screening and initial validity tests 133, Cutoff levels for drugs and drug metabolites 135, Split specimens 137, Quality assurance and quality control 139, Reporting initial validity and drug test results 151, Laboratories Certified by the Department of Health and Human Services, Purpose 153, Using certified laboratories for testing urine specimens 155, Laboratory personnel 157, Procedures 159, Assuring specimen security, chain of custody, and preservation 161, Cutoff levels for validity testing 163, Cutoff levels for drugs and drug metabolites 165, Testing split specimens and retesting single specimens 167, Quality assurance and quality control 168, Blind performance testing 169, Reporting Results 181, Determining Fitness-for-Duty Policy Violations and Determining Fitness, Purpose 183, Medical review officer 185, Determining a fitness-for-duty policy violation 187, Substance abuse expert 189, Determination of fitness 201, Managing Fatigue, Applicability 203, General provisions 205, Work hours 207, Waivers and exceptions 209, Self-declarations 211, Fatigue assessments 401, FFD Programs for Construction, General 403, Written policy and procedures 405, Drug and alcohol testing 406, Fitness monitoring 407, Behavioral observation 409, Sanctions 411, Protection of information 413, Review process 415, Audits 417, Recordkeeping and reporting 419, Suitability and fitness evaluations 709, Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements, Applicability 711, General provisions 713, Recordkeeping requirements for licensees and other entities 715, Recordkeeping requirements for collection sites, licensee testing facilities, and laboratories certified by the Department of Health and Human Services further results Appendices:

10 CFR 26.63, Suitable Inquiry

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10 CFR 26.63, Suitable Inquiry

a

b

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d

e

f

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