What constitutes a good faith effort in the context of requesting a new employee’s safety performance history?

Good faith in this context means a request of each former employer listed on the driver’s employment application or known to exist. The requests can be made through a variety of means, including mail (certified mail is not required), fax, telephone, or email. The new employer must provide the former employer with the employee’s signed release or a faxed or scanned copy. The former employer must respond in writing (fax, letter, email, etc.).

Where information is not forthcoming, a good faith effort consists of more than one attempt at retrieving the information within 30 days of hire. An industry best practice is to make at least three attempts to contact the former employer in this time period. The follow-up inquiry does not have to use the same medium as the first, or even second, attempt. For instance, a prospective employer may mail the employer the specific written consent, then follow up with an email, then follow up with documented phone call.