DOT – FMCSA Establishes National Registry

(Winter 2016) The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced a new rule in December effective January 2020.  It will establish a central repository containing records of violations of FMCSA’s drug and alcohol testing program for drivers required to hold Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDLs).

Additionally, the rule requires motor carriers, medical review officers, third-party administrators and substance abuse professionals to report information to this registry about drivers who

• test positive for drugs or alcohol,
• refuse drug and alcohol testing, or
• undergo the return-to-duty drug and alcohol rehabilitation process.

Even before this rule, FMCSA required hiring employers to check the testing records before putting a mandated employee into safety-sensitive activity.  Unfortunately, history has demonstrated that without a centralized clearinghouse like this rule establishes, if a driver leaves information off his/her application, an employer may never know that there is a restriction on the driver’s record.

With the new system required by this rule, not only will this information be hard for applicants to hide, motor carriers will be required to annually search the clearinghouse for current employees to determine whether a driver should be prohibited from driving because of a violation.

“The system will be a new technological tool that will make our roads safer,” said Anthony Foxx, U.S. Transportation Secretary.

Read the full rule at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2016-27398.pdf

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