Everything to Know About Transportation and Trucking Background Checks

Transportation and trucking background checks are mission-critical tools for a vital industry. The transportation sector is much larger than many people realize. Public transportation in the United States alone generates more than $75 billion annually. Now consider that even that amount pales in comparison to the value of the freight industry. Trucking and transportation account for more than $1 trillion in value. With so much money at stake, safety and reliability are non-negotiable.

There are many smaller sectors in the overall transportation industry, too. Private limousine companies, school bus drivers, airport shuttles, and more exist. Those hired to operate motor vehicles assume tremendous responsibility. Drivers must keep their passengers, cargo, and others safe on the road, which is why background checks play a fundamental role.

In many industries, conducting background checks is not a legal requirement. Instead, they are a tool that employers may use at their discretion. However, that is not the case in transportation. If you hire someone to drive a vehicle, you will likely face federal requirements. The law demands that you conduct a background check and take other steps as a matter of safety. Many transit companies fall under the Department of Transportation (DOT), and all DOT-regulated companies must do these checks.

Understanding your obligations and knowing how to conduct a thorough transport background screening is essential. Safety, speed, and replicability for each job candidate are all important. With a worsening truck driver shortage, many companies have pressing needs. Recruitment and retention efforts are exceedingly important now. So, what do you need to know about safe hiring?

Building on our trucking industry roundup, we consider why these checks remain essential next. We’ll review the required types of screening for truck drivers. We’ll also cover some vital compliance issues transport companies should know.

Why Background Checks Still Matter

Background checks are often referred to as part of a company’s due diligence, and for good reason. It is your responsibility to know whom you’re hiring. You must ensure that they can handle all the elements of the job. When the role involves driving a truck that weighs many tons, carriers owe the public their care and attention in driver selection.

Imagine hiring a driver who causes a fatal accident while driving under the influence of alcohol. Perhaps they lacked the proper training. In such cases, your company may bear the ultimate responsibility. Civil lawsuits against negligent trucking companies can ruin businesses. Judgments may be in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Even if you do not face a lawsuit, a brand that disregards public safety faces an uphill PR battle. Repairing a damaged relationship is a struggle that’s difficult to overcome.

Consider the 2019 case of a small trucking firm that hired a man inexperienced in mountain driving. The job involved hauling weighty loads through Colorado. That lack of experience and unfamiliarity with the roads led to a crash that killed multiple people. Initially, the driver received a 110-year prison sentence.

Although the carrier was not held liable, many believe negligence played a role in the accident. The trucking company faced insurmountable troubles afterward—their insurance canceled their coverage. The owner faced tens of thousands of dollars in regulatory fines, too. Ultimately, the company went out of business only five months later. These and other criminal incidents in the trucking industry should give carriers pause.

There is no urgent truck driver recruitment worth cutting corners for. Likewise, you can’t ignore elements of the DOT background check process. It’s not just your business or your employees at stake; it’s public safety, too. For these reasons, criminal background checks are critical to responsible transportation business ownership.

Screening Required for Truck Drivers

It’s evident that ensuring only safe, reliable drivers work in transport. However, you may worry about the complexity of hiring in the industry. In reality, it’s more straightforward than you might think. Lay out a clear policy with well-defined steps. Understand your order of operations. Equip yourself with support and tools from a trusted background check company. Once you break the process down into its steps, it’s easy to understand background checks for truck drivers.

What steps should you follow to recruit new and safe drivers successfully? Let’s consider the types of truck driver background check.

1. Criminal Record Checks

Employers have a right to consider criminal history data when they do so lawfully. Criminal records are among the first to consider when checking someone’s background. Though truck driving tends to be an isolated job, there are still risks. You could be responsible if a driver commits a crime while working for you. Past criminal acts don’t predict the future, but they can help you gauge risk.

Screen the driver’s records for any troubling warning signs. Look for criminal convictions that may be disqualifying, such as a recent DUI or a violent felony. Drivers may live in many places over the course of their careers. They may have criminal records in more than one place. A far-reaching background check process is ideal in such a setting.

County court records and a multi-jurisdictional report can provide the info you need. Checking these records helps prove that your business did its due diligence. In the event of future claims of negligence, you can point to your process.

2. MVR Reports

A motor vehicle report is virtually a driver’s permanent record of their driving career. It‘s a critical cornerstone of hiring truck drivers. An MVR report contains more than an individual’s driver’s license information. They also show the endorsements and restrictions they have on their license. Many types of commercial driving require specific license endorsements. These signify the completion of special training. For example, drivers need a special HAZMAT endorsement to carry dangerous materials.

An MVR also contains records of infractions on the road, including speeding tickets to records of accidents and other violations. How far back do trucking companies check driving records? Minor infractions may only remain on an MVR for a few years. However, depending on state laws, accident reports, and others can linger much longer. Some records may exist for ten years or more. The MVR also reveals how many infraction points drivers have on their licenses.

The MVR is just as important, if not more important, than a criminal background check. In part, that’s because reviewing an applicant’s MVR is a DOT requirement. You must order MVRs for every state where a driver held a commercial license over the previous three years.

3. Drug and Alcohol Screening

All prospective commercial drivers must submit to drug testing for employment. Transportation is unlike other industries where mandates to drug test are rare. The Department of Transportation has made this step mandatory. The risks created by driving while impaired by any substance are simply too substantial. Because cannabis remains federally illegal, even medical marijuana is unacceptable to the DOT—any positive test result will disqualify the driver. They may temporarily lose their Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) due to a positive test.

You must also consult the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA’s) drug and alcohol clearinghouse. This system reveals three years of an individual’s prior violations of the drug and alcohol policy. The DOT allows employers to use this data as the basis for hiring decisions. The clearinghouse also notes when drivers complete return-to-duty (RTD) programs.

4. Medical Screening

Commercial drivers must not have serious health conditions. Such issues could cause them to become a danger on the road unexpectedly. You must work with a licensed medical professional to screen any prospective drivers. Disqualifying conditions typically include:

• Heart disease
• Epilepsy
• Vision issues without adequate correction
• A need for certain prescription medications

In some cases, drivers who fail their medical screen can apply for FMCSA exemptions. If granted, you can employ those individuals without worrying about violations.

5. Certification of Road Safety Test Passage

All commercial drivers must maintain their professional files. This portfolio must include their most recent road test results and valid DOT certifications. You must ensure every driver has a current license with fully updated qualifications. Verify that drivers have the necessary endorsements and that they are current. Some endorsements require periodic re-testing.

Carriers cannot simply accept a driver’s word that they have the correct certifications. Hiring a driver without viewing these documents violates how the DOT regulates trucking. It could even be a potentially negligent act. In this, transportation is no different than other industries. For example, a hospital would not hire a nurse without the proper licenses. Carriers must not overlook this simple but essential step.

6. Verification of Safe Driving With Prior Employers

Do trucking companies call previous employers? Yes. Employment verification is a requirement of the law. So, how do transit companies verify past work history? It begins with information supplied by the truck driver for their background check.

Non-CDL drivers must provide information about all their employers for the previous three years. CDL drivers must provide ten years of work history. You must verify that the individuals drove safely for their previous employers and confirm they had no severe accidents or violations. Other transit companies have the same responsibilities. You can easily find red flags by calling prior employers and asking about the job applicant.

What to Do When Screening Truck Drivers

Knowing the types of vetting you must perform and what to look for is just the first part of the process. You’ll need a fully-informed policy on compliance issues to succeed. It should be easy to replicate and simple to follow every time, and it can be a daunting task at first. Department of Transportation-regulated industries must consider much more information compared to other sectors. No one wants to risk breaking the law. Fines and civil action are best avoided, too.

So, what must you know to ensure you meet all your obligations? How can you provide job seekers with a fair and equitable process? We can help you understand these responsibilities. Here are a few tips for developing a better method.

Know the Laws Governing Background Checks

There are many rules and regulations to follow, and your HR team should know them well. Understand your disclosure and consent obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Know how to build an equitable process that doesn’t discriminate according to the Civil Rights Act. Review and understand Department of Transportation background check requirements in detail. All these steps are essential even before you order your first report.

When hiring drivers, you must have a clear and fully informed understanding of your responsibilities. Violating laws about using background checks can be costly. Even leading trucking companies such as JB Hunt have run afoul of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The company has faced potential class action FCRA suits before. Understanding how to make hiring decisions based on background checks legally should always be your starting point.

Hire a Reputable Background Check Provider

How can SMBs navigate the historic truck driver shortage without compromising on quality? Confidence in your due diligence processes comes from two places. First, you need a fully-informed, well-written policy. Just as importantly, you also need support from a consumer reporting agency with a proven track record.

Selecting a background check service to provide your business with these reports requires care. You should choose a company that can provide everything you need under one roof. That includes background screening, MVR reports, drug screening, and other verifications. Select a provider that has years of experience with your industry. The right products to supply the information you need swiftly is vital, too. So is a proactive approach to customer service.

When your background check provider actively supports your efforts to select the best and safest drivers, you can enjoy greater confidence in every new hire.

Use the Same Process for Every Applicant

No one should get special treatment during the hiring process. You must create a background check procedure that you repeat precisely the same for everyone, identically how you choose to dismiss applicants based on background results. Anything less than a consistent effort opens the door to claims of unfairness and discrimination.

While nothing may come of such claims, facing a lawsuit is not impossible. To avoid legal risks, always rely on the same process. Evaluate every applicant on a level playing field.

Have Drug and Alcohol Testing Reviewed by a Medical Officer

Drug and alcohol screening results are of critical importance in the transportation sector. However, you cannot rely on intuition or understanding to interpret them. Sometimes, a driver may test positive for a prohibited substance by mistake. It could occur because the test detected an actual prescription medication similar to banned substances. Denying someone based on a legitimate, non-disqualifying medical condition is discriminatory.

A Medical Review Officer, or MRO, is the answer. MROs have specific training and certification for reviewing drug tests. They can determine whether a legitimate positive test occurred by analyzing the data. They also determine whether there are potentially mitigating circumstances to consider. It is an FMCSA requirement for all drug screens to undergo review by an MRO.

Provide a Standalone Disclosure to Each Prospective Driver

The standalone disclosure requirement of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is vital. Unfortunately, it can also be quite confusing. Various lawsuits and court rulings have further muddied the waters. Disclosures cannot be a part of a packet of other papers, such as the regular job application. Instead, they must be a separate document provided individually to each applicant.

You can offer this document with an application, but the disclosure cannot be a part of the application. You cannot bundle the disclosure with any other statutorily required notices. Always ensure every applicant receives this disclosure. Missing even one could cause future headaches. At backgroundchecks.com, we support our partners with compliance workflows to tick these boxes.

Obtain Written Consent Before Using Background Checks

Remember, the FCRA regulates transportation background checks as a consumer report. Though criminal history data is a matter of public record, there are restrictions on its use. You must get an applicant’s permission to use them for employment purposes. Obtaining written consent and maintaining records of that consent are must-do steps.

Standalone disclosures must not contain extraneous information. Do not include anything other than the legally required statements. Offer the authorization form as a separate document during the hiring. Be sure you collect the signature and avoid one of the most common legal hazards companies face today.