DOT is the Department of Transportation in U.S. As per the regulations of the Government, the Transportation Industry has to conduct a DOT background check for its drivers before employment. A DOT background check is a search for the commercial driver’s qualifications, compliance with the Federal Safety Regulations and past driving history of the candidate to ensure they are capable of operating commercial vehicles safely.
It is indeed a shocking statistics that every year around 400,000 large truck crashes occur in the United States and result in 4000 fatalities as reported by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Due to this reason the department of transportation has made a stringent regulation to carry out DOT background check for its drivers.
Aspects covered by DOT background check
Based on the regulations of DOT, transport companies should maintain Driver Qualification Files for all commercial vehicle drivers which cover the following records.
1. Physical and Medical Exam
DOT conducts a physical exam on the commercial vehicle driver to verify that he does not have any serious medical problem or disease to ensure safety on the road. The regulation states that the physical exam should be certified by a medical doctor who is under the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.
2. Driving History
DOT reviews the driving history of the candidate for the last 3 years. This review is carried out in the states where the candidate had their Commercial Drivers License. This history will reveal any accidents, miss-happenings, deviations, cancellation of driver’s license, damage to life and damage to properties on the side of the driver.
3. Road Driving Test
As per the regulations of DOT, it is mandatory to verify whether the driver candidate has passed a road test officially. It is also important that all certificates are maintained in the Qualification Files in the office. This driving test is very significant in the sense that it verifies whether the applicant is capable of operating the vehicles of the company. In the case of a company possessing oversized heavy vehicles or vehicles with unique features the driver candidate ought to pass the road test in such commercial vehicles which they would be expected to drive for their work.
4. Past Employment Verification
The DOT regulations make it mandatory that employment verification report should be obtained from the past employer. The sole aim of this report is to check the Safety Performance History of the driver candidate at least for the last 3 years. The Past Employment Verification will bring to lime light whether the information furnished by the driver candidate in the application is true and genuine. This would also give an idea about the states in which he was previously employed and also about the number of years of experience.
5. Drug and Alcohol Screening
The candidate should be screened for alcohol and drug abuse.
This involves consulting the FMCSA’s drug and alcohol testing program (Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse) to check if the commercial vehicle driver has violated any rules concerning the usage of prohibited drugs and substances in the last 3 years.
The driver candidate is expected to submit a pre-employment drug screening test report by DOT, in case they have not been tested for illicit drugs in the last 6 months.
Background Check Requirements for DOT
Safety Regulations were stipulated by FMCSA to ensure that carriers and truck drivers drive safely on the national highway.
Also as per regulations of FMCSA, companies are expected to conduct DOT pre-employment background check specifically for drivers who are supposed to drive the following vehicles:
- Commercial vehicles with a gross weight of 10,001 pounds or more.
- Passenger vehicles carrying 9 to 15 people though they are not commercial.
- Trucks that transport hazardous materials under 49 U.S.C. §§ 5101-5126
It is also to be noted that drivers who drive vehicles must have Class A, B, or C commercial licenses.
The drivers should possess HAZMAT endorsement on their Commercial Driver Licenses in case they are transporting hazardous materials. If these drivers are appointed for interstate commerce, they had to undergo DOT background check before employment.
Laws Governing DOT Background Check For Employment
The Federal law, Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a major law that governs DOT Background Check for Employment. It is regulated to protect the applicants privacy in the information and data gathered about him. Also it ensures the data reported by Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA) are kept confidential by the employers and check providers.
The employer should inform the candidate before conducting the DOT Background Check for Employment in writing on a standalone form. Then he should get the written consent from the candidate which has to be documented.
CRA’s which carry out the Background Check for Employment should not report the information listed below for jobs paying under $75,000 per year when the report is more than 7 years old.
- Arrests that didn’t lead to convictions
- Paid tax liens
- Civil lawsuits
- Civil judgments
The Adverse Action Process to be complied before an employer denies the applicant a job based on the report of Background Check for Employment. The employer should send the applicant adverse action notice along with the report of Background Check. The Applicant should be given enough time to provide evidence and explanation for inaccurate information. Then the employer should sent the final Adverse Action Notice if he wants to still deny employment to the applicant.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is a DOT background check in U.S.?
A DOT background check is a search for the commercial driver’s qualifications, compliance with the Federal Safety Regulations and past driving history of the candidate to ensure they are capable of operating commercial vehicles safely.
2. What are the aspects covered in a DOT background check?
Physical and Medical Exam, Driving History, Road Driving Test, Past Employment verification and Drug Screening are the aspects searched for in a DOT background check.
3. What are the laws to be followed in a DOT background check?
FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) and Adverse Action Process are the Federal Laws that had to be complied in a DOT background check.
4. How many years back the search can go for in drug screening?
Drug Screening Reports within last 3 years are taken into account. The reports before 3 years are invalid.
5. How can the DOT background check be carried on easily?
One can approach Reveal Background Check which saves a lot of time owing to the reason that search is done by simple emailing. Because of the extensive data network, Reveal Background Check collects all the required information fast and delivers to the employer online. Moreover Reveal has lot of packages to suit the need of the employer and also the charges are relatively lower.
