According to data in the latest FMCSA report, over 35,000 violations have been reported to the DOT Clearinghouse since the database opened in January. Positive drug tests (for marijuana in particular) account for 81 percent of these violations.
Perhaps even more surprising, is that 30,000 of these drivers are still in prohibited status – and most haven’t yet started the return-to-duty process yet. This means that they can’t legally operate a CDL and will be put out-of-service if they are pulled over for inspection.
Are you sure that one (or more) of these drivers isn’t operating for your business? If you haven’t run a limited query on your drivers yet, you could be at risk.
All FMCSA-regulated employers must run a limited query on their CDL drivers annually – and the first deadline is on the horizon. If you haven’t run a query on your drivers yet this year, you will be required to have one on file before January 5, 2021.
Although that may still seems like a ways off, it’s going to come up fast – and there’s a few steps that must happen before you can get that query on file.
One year ago this week, registration for the DOT Clearinghouse opened – giving employers and drivers an opportunity to get registered well in advance of the January 2020 deadline. Since that time, over 150,000 DOT-regulated employers have created accounts. Over 1.1 million CDL drivers have done the same.
Clearinghouse query is a type of background check and is therefore protected by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Privacy Act. Before you can run a query, you must get consent from your drivers.
A limited query requires only a blanket consent form, which can be kept on file for the duration of their employment. This form will enable you to run limited queries throughout your drivers’ employment without needing further permissions. In the event you need to run a full query, you’ll be required to get consent on an individual basis in the Clearinghouse.
A driver will need a Clearinghouse account to provide consent (which is why it’s so important that they set one up now). Once you have consent on file, you can go ahead and run the limited query. As long as the query shows that the driver has no violations in the Clearinghouse, your requirement is met – you can go ahead and file both the consent form and the query in the driver’s file. If there is a “hit” on a driver’s record, you’ll need to complete a full query within 24 hours or the driver will need to be removed from duty.
(please note that this requests are processed only during normal business hours)