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For years, truckload carriers have voiced the need for a centralized repository for the drug testing history of prospective drivers. Without this information, hiring managers have been
unable to determine whether the driver failed a drug test just the day before at the neighboring carrier down the street, only to try again at their facility the next day. This lack of
easily-accessible information has led to great uncertainty in the hiring process and the possibility that drug users are making their way into the driver’s seats of 18-wheelers. Fortunately,
we now have an answer to these cries for help. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse will go live on January 6, 2020. The Clearinghouse
will provide an online database for carriers to obtain nearly real-time information about prospective drivers’ and current employees’ drug and alcohol program violations. FMCSA and TCA are
encouraging carriers to register for the Clearinghouse now in advance of the January 6 deadline. On January 6, employers must begin conducting queries of all prospective employees to see if
they are prohibited from performing safety-sensitive functions due to a positive test result or unresolved drug and alcohol program violation. Employers must also begin reporting drug and
alcohol violations and negative return-to-duty test results on that date – information which must be reported by the close of the third business day after the employer is informed. Some
carriers have questioned the true need to conduct queries starting on January 6 in order to be compliant, as FMCSA has reported that it will take three years for the data in the
Clearinghouse to be fully updated. It is true that until January 6, 2023, employers will need to conduct both the online electronic Clearinghouse queries and the traditional manual inquiries
with previous employers. However, because new information can be uploaded into the Clearinghouse at any time on or after the January 6 date, employers must do the electronic queries in
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