Are drivers from a temp agency fully qualified to drive our trucks? The temp agency says that these drivers are qualified, plus they are the temp agency’s employees so what risk are we taking?

The FMCSA does not look at the issue of pay. It doesn’t matter that the driver receives a paycheck from a third-party. If that individual is operating a vehicle under your operating authority, that person is your driver for DOT purposes. You are responsible for compliance with all of the safety regulations.

An employment agency, or temp agency, is not subject to the FMCSRs, so any paperwork they assembled on their own behalf on the driver during their hiring process cannot be used to satisfy your obligations. This could include an application for employment, an MVR, drug testing, etc. If the temp agency is acting as a third-party administrator of your paperwork, generating forms with your name on them, this would be an acceptable scenario.

What the employment agency can do for you is to act as your third-party administrator and generate all the required documents for a complete driver qualification (DQ) file, as long as your company name is on all forms. The agency can even store these files at their location. However, these files must be made available within 48 hours to your company’s facility in the event of a DOT audit. If and when your contractual agreement with the employment agency ends, you should make certain that these files are yours and must be maintained in accordance with 391.51, 391.53, and 382.401.

No matter who gets behind the wheel of your CMV, compliance and risk always falls on the carrier.