• Employers should never backdate a document.

If employers think there is a violation, they should first check Part 391 and see if any exceptions apply. For example, there’s an exception for drivers employed by the same company since 1971, though that doesn’t apply to many companies anymore.

If employers find a violation, they should understand there is no way to erase it and realize they might be cited if caught by an auditor. There are steps employers can take to minimize the damage and show a good faith effort to comply:

• Don’t try to hide the violation, and never backdate a document.
  • This is considered falsification, and it carries a hefty fine.
• Determine how long the document has been missing and consider if it makes sense to create or fix the document now. For example:
  • Can the previous employer still be contacted?
  • Does it make sense to get a road test or an application?
  • Is there an old copy of the commercial driver’s license (CDL) to use in place of doing a road test?
    • Whatever employers decide, they should document their efforts so the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) knows they made a good faith effort to comply.
• Make sure the violations don’t happen again.
  • Employers should put a note in the file indicating that they are aware of the violations, have taken steps to correct them, and have controls in place to prevent any future violations.