On Jan. 6, 2023, employers operating under Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations can conduct part of the employee safety performance history investigation in the FMCSA Clearinghouse.
The safety performance history investigation, which provides information on a driver’s past drug and alcohol violations, is required for all driver-applicants and each CDL driver employed by a motor carrier, according to law firm Jackson Lewis.
These investigations previously required the employer to directly contact all U.S. Department of Transportation-regulated employers that employed the driver in the past three years to gather that information.
Beginning Jan. 6, 2023, employers will be able to use the FMCSA Clearinghouse to satisfy this requirement for FMCSA-regulated employers.
However, employers should keep in mind that the clearinghouse only contains information reported by FMCSA-regulated employers. If an applicant previously worked for an employer regulated by another Department of Transportation agency, the current employer will still need to contact each of those past employers directly.
Motor carriers will still need to directly contact previous FMCSA-regulated employers for a driver’s accident history information.
Employers can log in to the FMCSA Clearinghouse to see if their annual queries are due.
