Reminder to Medical Review Officers (MROs) Verifying an Employee’s Prescription
As a reminder, when a donor provides a prescription for a non-negative laboratory test result, as the MRO, you are responsible for determining whether the medical explanation is legitimate.
In your role as the “gatekeeper” in this process, you must review and take all reasonable and necessary steps to verify the authenticity of all medical records the employee provides (see 49 CFR Section 40.141(b)). For example:
In accordance with 49 CFR Sections 40.137(c), 40.139(b), and 40.145(e), the donor has the burden of proof that a legitimate medical explanation exists. The donor must present information meeting this burden at the time of the verification interview. You may extend the time available for the donor to present the information for up to 5 days. If the donor fails to provide information you have requested (e.g., does not produce a prescription or does not facilitate the treating physician’s contact with you), you may proceed in making your determination.
Any time you make the determination to verify a laboratory positive result negative because of a legitimate medical explanation, you may have a responsibility to raise fitness-for-duty considerations in accordance with 49 CFR Section 40.137(e)(4) and 40.327. In raising these concerns, you are only authorized to provide information learned through your verification interview with the employee’s employer, a physician or health care provider responsible for determining the employee’s medical qualifications under a DOT agency’s safety regulations, a SAP evaluating the employee as part of the return to duty process, a DOT agency, or with the National Transportation Safety Board during the course of an accident investigation.
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Reminder to Medical Review Officers (MROs) - Verifying an Employee’s Prescription
BTS Releases July 2014 North American Freight Numbers
BTS 45-14 advisory BTS Releases July 2014 North American Freight Numbers U.S.-NAFTA freight totaled $101.1 billion in July 2014 as all five major transportation modes – air, vessel, pipeline, rail, and trucks – carried more U.S.-NAFTA freight than in July 2013, according to the TransBorder Freight Data released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). This is the fifth consecutive month with U.S.-NAFTA freight flows exceeding $100 billion. Freight by Mode In July, the value of commodities moving by pipeline grew by the largest percentage of any mode, 10.8 percent. Rail freight increased 10.0 percent followed by a truck increase of 8.5 percent, vessel increase of 5.6 percent, and an air increase of 1.2 percent. Of the $7.9 billion increase in the value of U.S.-NAFTA freight from July 2013, truck freight contributed the most, $4.7 billion, followed by rail, $1.4 billion. The trucking increase was due to growth in truck freight with both Mexico, up $2.5 billion, and Canada, up $2.2 billion. Trucks carry three-fifths of U.S.-NAFTA freight and are the most heavily utilized mode for moving goods to and from both U.S.-NAFTA partners. Trucks carried 59.2 percent of U.S.-NAFTA freight in July 2014, accounting for $30.5 billion of exports and $29.3 billion of imports. Rail remained the second largest mode, moving 14.8 percent of all U.S.-NAFTA freight, followed by vessel at 9.1 percent, pipeline at 8.5 percent, and air at 3.4 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 82.4 percent of the total U.S.-NAFTA freight flows. Trade with Canada Year-to-year, the percent change in the value of U.S.-Canada freight moved by vessel increased the most of any mode, growing 30.9 percent, followed by a pipeline increase of 10.7 percent. The vessel increase was due to a doubling of export value to Canada while imports by vessel fell 2.6 percent. U.S.-Canada pipeline freight comprised 95.2 percent of total U.S.-NAFTA pipeline freight in July. Freight moved by rail increased by 8.5 percent, truck by 8.0 percent, and air by 2.0 percent. Trucks carried 52.7 percent of the $55.2 billion of freight to and from Canada, followed by rail at 15.2 percent, pipeline at 14.8 percent, vessel at 6.3 percent and air at 4.0 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 82.8 percent of the total U.S.-Canada freight flows. Trade with Mexico Year-to-year, the value of rail freight rose 12.0 percent, the largest percentage increase of any U.S.-Mexico mode. Freight moved by pipeline increased 11.4 percent and truck by 8.8 percent, while air and vessel decreased by 0.1 and 5.3 percent respectively. The decrease in vessel freight was principally due to a decline in mineral fuels imports.. Trucks carried 66.9 percent of the $45.9 billion of freight to and from Mexico, followed by rail at 14.2 percent, vessel at 12.6 percent, air at 2.7 percent and pipeline at 0.9 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 82.1 percent of the total U.S.-Mexico freight flows. See BTS Transborder Data Release for summary tables and additional data. See North American Transborder Freight Data on the BTS website for additional data for surface modes since 1995 and all modes since 2004. ### You are subscribed to DOT News for Department of Transportation. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
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U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx Announces $100 Million in Grants to Connect More Americans with Jobs, Ladders of Opportunity
DOT 90-14 U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx Announces $100 Million in Grants Detroit to Receive Over $25 Million to Improve Access to Transit for Residents in Greatest Need DETROIT – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced today $100 million in competitive grants to 24 recipients in 19 states to significantly improve bus service and bus facilities in urban and rural communities where residents depend heavily on public transportation. The grants are provided through the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Ladders of Opportunity Initiative, which supports the modernization and expansion of transit bus service across the nation, with the purpose of connecting disadvantaged and low-income populations—including veterans, seniors, and youths—with centers of education, employment, job training, health care, and other vital services. A list of all funded projects is available at http://www.fta.dot.gov/grants/15926_16153.html. “Transportation is about more than getting from one point to another--it’s about getting from where you are to a better life,” said Secretary Foxx. “The Ladders of Opportunity grants will help communities to offer better access to jobs and schools and allow citizens to gain the life skills they need to achieve their goals.” Secretary Foxx made today’s announcement at Cass Technical High School in Detroit. He was joined by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, FTA Acting Administrator Therese McMillan and state and local officials. Secretary Foxx was one of several Cabinet secretaries who met in Detroit in September 2013 to discuss what they could do to support Detroit revitalization efforts. Since the Secretary’s visit, the U.S. Department of Transportation has provided approximately $24 million to repair and rehabilitate buses and install security cameras to protect passengers and drivers, more than $37 million in TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grants to the M1 RAIL/Woodward Avenue Streetcar project and $6.4 million to assist the newly created Regional Transit Authority implement a regional bus rapid transit system. “More Americans travel by bus than any other form of transit—and nearly half of the buses that people depend on in the United States are in marginal or poor condition,” said FTA Acting Administrator McMillan. “These grants will give a much-needed boost to communities around the country whose residents need and deserve safe, reliable bus service to access jobs and other important opportunities to provide for their families and achieve a better quality of life.” FTA’s Ladders of Opportunity Initiative proved to be one of the most over-subscribed discretionary grant programs in the agency’s history. FTA received 446 project proposals from 282 applicants requesting a total of approximately $1.4 billion—14 times the available funding. This highly competitive response reflects tremendous demand for modern buses and bus facilities in communities across the United States. Priority was given to projects that provide ready access to work for individuals lacking reliable transportation, especially in low-income and under-served neighborhoods; projects connecting to universities, hospitals or other places that can lead to improved quality of life; and projects based on effective partnerships with local governments, businesses, and non-profits. The President’s GROW AMERICA Act reauthorization proposal would increase funding for transit buses and bus facilities by over 350 percent between FY2014 and FY2015, to help address additional unmet transportation needs across the country, including provisions for discretionary grants. Among the projects selected nationwide: • Detroit will receive $25.9 million to purchase up to 50 new hybrid and clean diesel buses that will ease overcrowding, reduce wait times, and provide more accessible and reliable service for a highly transit-dependent population where 60 percent of residents do not have access to a car, and 35 percent live below the poverty line. The new buses will provide riders with essential links to jobs, education, training and other opportunities throughout Detroit, including vital connections to the Central Business District. The clean-fuel buses will replace aging vehicles that have been plagued by maintenance issues, resulting in better on-time service, as well as reduced carbon emissions. # # # You are subscribed to DOT News for Department of Transportation. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
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BTS Releases 2nd Quarter 2014 Airline Financial Data
BTS 44-14
BTS Releases 2nd Quarter 2014 Airline Financial DataU.S. scheduled passenger airlines reported a net profit of $3.6 billion in the second quarter of 2014, up from $507 million in the first quarter of 2014 and $2.2 billion in the second quarter of 2013, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today. The 27 U.S. scheduled service airlines reported an after-tax net profit as a group for the fifth consecutive quarter. In addition to the after-tax net profit based on net income reports, the scheduled service passenger airlines reported a $5.5 billion pre-tax operating profit in the second quarter of 2014, up from $1.7 billion in the first quarter of 2014 and up from $3.7 billion in the second quarter of 2013. The airlines reported a pre-tax operating profit - as a group - for the 14th consecutive quarter.
Net income or loss, and operating profit or loss, are two different measures of airline financial performance. Net income or loss may include non-operating income and expenses, nonrecurring items or income taxes. Operating profit or loss is calculated from operating revenues and expenses before taxes and other nonrecurring items. Total operating revenue for all U.S. passenger airlines in the April-to-June second-quarter of 2014 was $44.6 billion. Airlines collected $33.7 billion from fares, 75.5 percent of total second-quarter operating revenue. Total operating expenses for all passenger airlines in the second-quarter of 2014 were $39.1 billion, of which fuel costs accounted for $10.8 billion, or 27.8 percent, and labor costs accounted for $10.3 billion, or 26.3 percent. In the second quarter, passenger airlines collected a total of $900 million in baggage fees, 2.0 percent of total operating revenue, and $753 million from reservation change fees, 1.7 percent of total operating revenue. Fees are included for calculations of net income, operating revenue and operating profit or loss. Baggage fees and reservation change fees are the only ancillary fees paid by passengers that are reported to BTS as separate items. Other fees, such as revenue from seating assignments and on-board sales of food, beverages, pillows, blankets, and entertainment are combined in different categories and cannot be identified separately. See BTS Airline Financials Release for summary tables and additional data. See airline financial data press releases and the airline financial databases for historic data. ### You are subscribed to DOT News for Department of Transportation. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
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Transportation Secretary Foxx Announces Nearly $3.6 Billion to Make Transit Systems More Resilient in New York, New Jersey, and Beyond
DOT 87-14 Transportation Secretary Foxx Announces Nearly $3.6 Billion to Make Transit Systems More Resilient in New York, New Jersey, and Beyond Disaster Relief Funds Will Rebuild Public Transportation Systems Affected by Hurricane Sandy Stronger than Before NEW YORK, NY—U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that 40 projects have been competitively selected to receive a share of $3.59 billion in federal disaster relief funds to help public transportation systems in the areas affected by Hurricane Sandy to become more resilient, in order to withstand the impact of future natural disasters. Approximately 90 percent of the funds will be invested in resilience projects primarily in New York and New Jersey, where transit systems sustained the worst of the storm damage, with the remainder going towards projects in Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. A list of all funded resilience projects is available at http://www.fta.dot.gov/15138_16147.html. “We've made great progress rebuilding critical transit connections since Hurricane Sandy, and we want to make sure no one pays for these repairs twice,” said Secretary Foxx. “While no one can predict the future with certainty, we believe these investments will help to harden transit facilities against future storms that Mother Nature dishes out, supporting President Obama’s call to address climate change now and reducing the risk of service disruptions and future damage to some of the nation’s busiest rail and bus services.” Secretary Foxx made today’s announcement at Peter Minuit Plaza, between the South Ferry transit station and the Staten Island Ferry landing. He was joined by White House Counselor John Podesta, U.S. Congressman Joseph Crowley, U.S. Congressman Gregory Meeks, U.S. Congressman Grace Meng, U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler, and New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. System-wide resilience projects that will benefit future South Ferry subway riders include sealing street-level vents and manholes and protecting underground pump rooms, circuit breaker houses and other underground facilities that deliver power to the South Ferry subway station and other facilities. Grant funds also will enable the purchase of two new Staten Island ferries capable of withstanding adverse storm and climate change conditions. “Over the last two years, the Federal Transit Administration has delivered on its promises to provide emergency relief funds as quickly and responsibly as possible, to help transit agencies in the Northeast recover from the worst transit-related disaster in U.S. history,” said Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Acting Administrator Therese McMillan. “As we have said since the day Hurricane Sandy made landfall nearly two years ago, we share an obligation not only to fully restore transportation systems that millions of riders depend on from New England to New York to D.C., but also to ensure that we can do an even better job of protecting these vulnerable assets in the face of future natural disasters.” In general, the projects selected for resilience funding were required to demonstrate that they would reduce the risk of damage to public transportation assets inflicted by future natural disasters. Emphasis was placed on a project’s ability to protect the most essential and vulnerable infrastructure, as well as effective collaboration and coordination among local and regional governments. The project evaluation process was rigorous, involving specialists from the FTA, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FTA received 61 proposals seeking a total of $6.6 billion. Examples of resilience projects receiving funds include: The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 provided $10.9 billion for FTA’s Emergency Relief Program for recovery, relief, and resiliency efforts in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. That total was subsequently cut by almost $545 million due to sequestration. FTA is allocating the remaining $10.4 billion in multiple tiers for response, recovery, and rebuilding; for locally prioritized resiliency projects; and for competitively selected resiliency work. To date, FTA has allocated nearly $9.3 billion of the total funds appropriated—roughly $5.7 billion for initial and ongoing recovery work and $3.6 billion for the larger resilience projects announced today. # # # You are subscribed to DOT News for Department of Transportation. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
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