General Directive 24-1: Required Actions Regarding Assaults on Transit Workers

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION <SUBAGY>Federal Transit Administration</SUBAGY> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. FTA-2023-0032]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 2132-ZA10 </RIN> <SUBJECT>General Directive 24-1: Required Actions Regarding Assaults on Transit Workers </SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Department of Transportation (DOT). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> General directive. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is issuing a General Directive to address the significant and continuing national-level safety risk related to assaults on transit workers. The General Directive requires each transit agency subject to FTA's Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) Final Rule to conduct a safety risk assessment, identify safety risk mitigations or strategies, and provide information to FTA on how it is assessing, mitigating, and monitoring the safety risk associated with assaults on transit workers. Each transit agency serving a large urbanized area must involve the joint labor-management Safety Committee when identifying safety risk mitigations. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Responses to this General Directive are due December 26, 2024. </DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> FTA's Office of Transit Safety and Oversight (TSO) will host a webinar to discuss the requirements of General Directive 24-1. Visit <E T="03">https://www.transit.dot.gov/assaults</E> for more information and to RSVP. FTA is committed to providing equal access for all webinar participants. If you need alternative formats, options, or services, contact <E T="03">FTA-Knowledge@dot.gov</E> at least three business days prior to the event. If you have any questions, please email <E T="03">FTA-Knowledge@dot.gov.</E> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> For program matters, contact Stewart Mader, Office of Transit Safety and Oversight, (202) 366-9677 or <E T="03">stewart.mader@dot.gov.</E> For legal matters, contact Heather Ueyama, Office of Chief Counsel, (202) 366-7374 or <E T="03">heather.ueyama@dot.gov.</E> Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Executive Summary</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Summary of General Directive and Changes From Proposed General Directive</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Notice of Proposed General Directive and Response to Comments</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. General</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Support</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Opposition</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. National Level Hazard/FTA's Safety Risk Assessment Process</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Assault as an Issue Not Exclusive to Public Transportation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Compliance Timeframe</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Burden</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Funding and Technical Assistance</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Applicability</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Definition of Assault on a Transit Worker</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">I. Safety Risk Mitigations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">J. Role of the Safety Committee</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Role of the Safety Committee in Safety Risk Assessment</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Role of the Safety Committee in Safety Risk Mitigations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. Role of the Safety Committee in Monitoring Mitigation Effectiveness</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">4. Role of the Safety Committee in Required Reporting</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">5. Other Comments Pertaining to Safety Committee</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">K. Required Actions</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Conduct a Safety Risk Assessment</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Identify Safety Risk Mitigations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. Submit Required Information to FTA</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">L. Follow-Up Reporting</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">M. Sensitive Security Information (SSI) and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">N. Oversight and Enforcement</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Federal Enforcement</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. State Safety Oversight Agency Role</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Executive Summary</HD> FTA is issuing a General Directive to address the significant and continuing safety risk associated with assaults on transit workers. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> FTA has identified a national-level hazard that transit workers must interact with the public and, at times, must clarify or enforce agency policies, which can present a risk of transit workers being assaulted on transit vehicles and in revenue facilities. FTA has determined that the national-level hazard and potential consequences discussed above constitute an unsafe condition or practice presenting a risk of death or personal injury for transit workers. Accordingly, pursuant to 49 CFR 670.25, FTA is issuing a General Directive that directs transit agencies to take action to address the identified national-level hazard and the potential consequences of the hazard. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  Please refer to the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) Final Rule for definitions of “assault on a transit worker” and “transit worker”: <E T="03">https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-VI/part-673.</E> </FTNT> This General Directive is part of FTA's ongoing comprehensive efforts to improve transit worker safety. FTA is also undertaking other actions related to transit worker safety, including funding research, sponsoring training, soliciting public input, and providing technical assistance. FTA intends to use information submitted to it pursuant to the General Directive and other FTA initiatives to inform future FTA actions, including rulemakings such as the planned Transit Worker and Public Safety rule (RIN 2132-AB47). <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Summary of General Directive and Changes From Proposed General Directive</HD> This General Directive requires each transit agency that is subject to the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) Final Rule (49 CFR part 673) to use the Safety Management System (SMS) processes documented in its Agency Safety Plan (ASP) to conduct a safety risk assessment related to assaults on transit workers on the public transportation system it operates. If a transit agency has conducted a safety risk assessment related to assaults on transit workers in the twelve months preceding the date of issuance of this General Directive, and if the transit agency continues to believe that the results of that safety risk assessment are relevant, the transit agency need not conduct a new assessment. This General Directive also requires each transit agency to use the SMS processes documented in its ASP to identify safety risk mitigations or strategies necessary as a result of the agency's safety risk assessment. As required by 49 U.S.C. 5329(d)(5) and the PTASP Final Rule at 49 CFR 673.25(d)(1), each transit agency serving a large urbanized area must involve the joint labor-management Safety Committee when identifying safety risk mitigations to reduce the likelihood and severity of consequences identified through the agency's safety risk assessment. This General Directive also requires each transit agency to provide information to FTA on how it is assessing, mitigating, and monitoring the safety risk associated with assaults on transit workers within 90 days of issuance of this General Directive. FTA has chosen this approach as part of the effort to address assaults on transit workers, as it is grounded in SMS principles and methods, which FTA has adopted as the basis for enhancing public transportation safety. <E T="03">See</E> 49 CFR 670.3. Further, this approach will ensure that each transit agency is taking a formal evaluation of the safety risk related to assaults on transit workers on their system. FTA believes this approach will contribute to transit agencies and their joint labor-management Safety Committees identifying scalable and effective mitigations across the range of services they provide and situations that contribute to the risk of assaults on transit workers. FTA is finalizing the General Directive largely as proposed. However, in the Notice of Proposed General Directive published on December 20, 2023 (88 FR 88213), FTA proposed a 60-day timeframe for transit agencies to comply with this General Directive. In response to public comments, FTA has increased the compliance timeframe to 90 days in this General Directive. In response to public comments, FTA also has removed the term “written plan” from the Enforcement section of the General Directive. Additional information about these changes is provided in Section III below. FTA notes that this directive is intended to work in conjunction with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) protections and is not intended to preempt OSHA's standards or other enforcement authority. The General Directive contains binding obligations, which 49 U.S.C. 5334(k) defines as “a substantive policy statement, rule, or guidance document issued by the Federal Transit Administration that grants rights, imposes obligations, produces significant effects on private interests, or effects a significant change in existing policy.” Under 49 U.S.C. 5334(k) FTA is authorized to issue binding obligations if it follows notice and comment rulemaking procedures under 5 U.S.C. 553. <HD SOURCE="HD1">III. Notice of Proposed General Directive and Response to Comments</HD> FTA published a Notice of Proposed General Directive in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> on December 20, 2023, which is available on the FTA website at <E T="03">https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/safety/fta-general-directives</E> and in Docket No. FTA-2023-0032. The public comment period closed on February 20, 2024. 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