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Motor carriers are required to obtain and review the “safety performance history” of each job applicant seeking employment as a commercial motor vehicle driver. A driver’s safety performance history includes three years’ worth of information about previous DOT-regulated employers, the commercial motor vehicle accidents the driver was involved in, and the driver’s DOT drug/alcohol testing history if the driver’s violations occurred at an employer regulated by a DOT agency other than FMCSA. Effective January 6, 2023, the Clearinghouse is the only way to learn of FMCSA drug and alcohol violations. By obtaining applicants’ safety performance histories, a motor carrier should be able to make better hiring decisions and help remove unsafe drivers from the road.
The safety performance history applies to drivers hired since October 30, 2004.
Driver application. To determine which of an applicant’s previous employers to send inquiries to, prospective employers must ask the following questions on the application for employment described in 391.21, for each previous employer listed on the application:
In addition, before an application is submitted, the prospective motor carrier must:
Previous employers. Prospective employers must request their applicants’ safety performance history information from all previous DOT-regulated employers. This would include positions in which the applicant:
The investigation may consist of personal interviews, telephone interviews, letters, faxes, emails, or any other method for investigating that the employer deems appropriate. Safety performance history information received from previous employers, or the prospective employer’s good faith efforts to obtain the information, must be placed in a Driver Investigation History file within 30 days of the start of the driver’s employment.
Content of inquiry. The information that has to be requested from previous DOT-regulated employers includes general identification and employment information, accident information, and DOT drug/alcohol testing information while at DOT-regulated employers other than FMCSA, as outlined below. Previous employers have to respond to each request within 30 days after receipt. Failures to respond should be reported to the FMCSA.
ID/Employment information. The prospective employer must provide basic identifying data about the driver, such as name, date of birth, and Social Security number, so the previous employer can identify who the driver is, and must request basic employment information about that driver, including starting and ending dates and job responsibilities.
Accidents. For all accidents involving the driver that occurred in the three-year period preceding the date of the employment application, the following information must be obtained (NOTE: This is the same information that has to be maintained in the employer’s accident register, as required by 390.15(b)):
Prospective employers must also request information about any other accidents the previous employer may wish to provide, although previous employers are not required to provide this additional information.
DOT Drug/Alcohol Testing. The prospective employer must obtain information concerning the applicant’s drug/alcohol testing history only if the employer was regulated by a DOT agency other than FMCSA. All CDL-vehicle drivers with a violation, must have verified failures to undertake or complete a rehabilitation program prescribed by a substance abuse professional (SAP), and violations occurring after completion of a referral program per 382.413.
Recordkeeping. The rules in 391.53 state that employers must maintain records related to the background check in “a secure location with controlled access.” In addition, the records must only be accessed by people directly involved in the hiring process (this can include insurers, except for drug- or alcohol-related information). The records may be kept with other secured documents (such as a drug/alcohol file) or in a separate “Driver Investigation History File,” and they must be kept for the length of employment plus three years.