(a) General. Each railroad must ensure that each regulated employee has an equal chance of being selected for random testing whenever selections are made. A railroad may not increase or decrease an employee's chance of being selected by weighting an entry or pool.

(b) Method of selection.

(1) Each railroad must use a selection method that is acceptable to FRA and meets the requirements of this subpart, such as a computer selection program, proper use of a random number table, or an alternative method which FRA has approved as part of the railroad's random testing plan.

(2) A selection method must be free of bias or apparent bias and employ objective, neutral criteria to ensure that every regulated employee has an equal statistical chance of being selected within a specified time frame. The selection method may not utilize subjective factors that permit a railroad to manipulate or control selections in an effort to either target or protect any employee, job, or operational unit from testing.

(3) The randomness of a selection method must be verifiable, and, as required by §219.623, any records necessary to document the randomness of a selection must be retained for not less than two years from the date the designated testing window for that selection expired.

(c) Minimum random testing rate.

(1) Each railroad must distribute random tests reasonably throughout the calendar year and make sufficient selections to ensure that each random testing pool meets the Administrator's minimum annual random testing rates as established according to §219.625.

(2) Each railroad must continually monitor changes in its workforce to ensure that the required number of selections and tests are conducted each year.

(d) Selection frequency. Each railroad must select at least one entry from each of its random testing pools every three months.

(e) Discarded selection draws. Each selection draw must identify who will be subject to random testing. A railroad cannot discard a selection draw without an acceptable explanation (e.g., the selection was drawn from an incomplete or inaccurate pool). A railroad must document and retain records for all discarded selection draws, including the specific reason the selection draw was not used, as required by §219.623.

(f) Increasing random selections. A railroad that is unable to complete a collection for each selection made during a designated testing period may increase the number of selections in a subsequent selection period to ensure that it meets the annual minimum random testing rate for the calendar year.

(g) Selection snapshots. Each railroad must capture and maintain an electronic or hard copy snapshot of each random testing pool at the time it makes a testing selection. A railroad must not re-create pool entries from records after the time of the original selection. The railroad must maintain this snapshot for a period of two years, as required by subpart J of this part.

(h) Multiple DOT agencies. Each railroad must ensure that each regulated employee who performs functions subject to the random testing requirements of more than one DOT agency is subject to random selection at or above the current minimum annual testing rate set by the DOT agency that regulates more than 50 percent of the employee's DOT-regulated functions.