Employers Must Switch To All Electronic Inquiries for Driver Preemployment Drug & Alcohol Violation Investigations Beginning Jan. 6, 2023
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires prospective employers of CDL drivers to conduct background investigations before hiring a CDL driver.
This process includes determining if the driver has violated U.S. Department of Transportation drug and alcohol regulations within the past three years.
Currently, this inquiry requires prospective employers to conduct both electronic queries in the FMCSA Clearinghouse and manual inquiries with previous employers to satisfy federal preemployment driver drug and alcohol investigation requirements.
Both manual and electronic inquiries are required because the Clearinghouse currently contains less than 3 years of electronic data on driver drug and alcohol history.
However, beginning January 6, 2023, the Clearinghouse will have accumulated three-years of data on driver history.
This means prospective employers must begin conducting electronic pre-employment queries of the Clearinghouse to comply with the FMCSA drug and alcohol violation investigation. requirement.
Manual preemployment inquiries will no longer satisfy FMCSA drug and alcohol inquiry requirements.
Please see EMA Drug and Alcohol Compliance Bulletin for additional details. Additional Information can be found in the EMA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Compliance Bulletin.
