Avionics News August 2020 - 16

F R O M
R I C
P E R I
A EA V I C E P R ES I D E N T O F G OV E R N M E N T & I N D U ST RY A F FA I RS

The Aircraft Electronics Association's international membership continues to grow. Currently, the AEA represents
avionics businesses in more than 40 countries throughout the world. To better serve the needs of the AEA's international
membership, the "International News and Regulatory Updates" section of Avionics News offers a greater focus on
international regulatory activity, international industry news and an international "Frequently Asked Questions" column
to help promote standardization. If you have comments about this section, send emails to avionicsnews@aea.net.

UNITED STATES

News & Regulatory Updates
The following information for the United States regulatory
update is provided by NATA Compliance Services. To learn more
about NATA Compliance Services, visit info.natacs.aero.

Safety-sensitive employees,
layoffs, furloughs and DOT drug
and alcohol programs
The COVID-19 mid-March U.S. emergency
generated federal, state, local and tribal closures
of nonessential businesses, along with lockdowns
and travel restrictions. Consequently, aircraft repair
stations and maintenance facilities, like many others
in the aviation industry, scrambled to adjust to the
rapid and steep decline in travel and overall business
activities. This resulted in high numbers of layoffs
and furloughs of DOT-regulated safety-sensitive
employees.
For maintenance facilities and other operations
that are required to have an anti-drug and alcohol
misuse prevention program by the Department
of Transportation and the Federal Aviation
Administration, the latter recommends the removal
of furloughed employees from the employer's
random testing pool, "if the absence lasts 90 days or
longer. The employer must add the employee back
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avionics news

august

2020

to the random testing pool once he or she returns to
work, and prior to the next random selection."
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3j59SGm.

Marijuana sales spike
About the same time that lockdowns went into
effect, data from several sources show sales of
marijuana started rising. Headset, a data collection
firm for the cannabis industry, reported that on
April 15, 2020, the day federal stimulus checks
began depositing into Americans' bank accounts,
sales of adult cannabis increased. In fact, April 2020
marijuana sales for the state of Washington showed a
32% increase when compared to sales numbers from
April 2019.
A spike in consumption of a controlled substance,
like marijuana, during a time of crisis is not
surprising. Research shows that people often turn
to alcohol and/or drugs as a way to cope with high
amounts of stress and to escape from their troubles.
This is known as the self-medication hypothesis,
and examples can be found in mainstream media
shows and movies where depressed characters are
shown drinking excessive amounts of alcohol or
ingesting a drug. This self-medication can lead to a
full addiction, and if the person has a mental health
condition, their symptoms could become worse.
What can the employer do to help their
employees? Active communications are paramount.
* Remind safety-sensitive employees that

https://bit.ly/3j59SGm http://info.natacs.aero

Avionics News August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News August 2020