Clearinghouse requirements delayed for states, not for truckers

FMCSA is issuing a final rule that will extend the compliance date for states’ query of the drug and alcohol clearinghouse for three years. However, the compliance date of Jan. 6, 2020 remains in place for all other requirements in the clearinghouse final rule. That means that all drivers who need to register for the clearinghouse still must do so in the coming weeks.

The extension of the states’ compliance date until Jan. 6, 2023 published in the Federal Register on Friday, Dec. 13. The rule will also allow states the option to voluntarily request clearinghouse information beginning on Jan. 6, 2020.

“The compliance date extension allows FMCSA the time needed to complete its work on a forthcoming rulemaking to address the states’ use of driver-specific information from the clearinghouse and time to develop the information technology platform through which states will electronically request and receive clearinghouse information,” FMCSA wrote in the final rule.

OOIDA comments

In October, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association filed formal comments, telling the agency that extending the compliance date for states’ query of the drug and alcohol clearinghouse could cause confusion for the trucking industry.

“OOIDA cautions that extending the compliance date for the requirement that states request information from the commercial driver’s license drug and alcohol clearinghouse before completing certain CDL transactions until Jan. 6, 2023, may cause confusion for the industry,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer wrote. “Drivers might interpret any delay in the clearinghouse as a delay to the entire program, thus failing to register at the proper time.”

Instead, OOIDA suggested that the best way to eliminate the confusion would be to postpone the implementation date for all industry stakeholders that would provide sufficient time for drivers and motor carriers to register.

OOIDA’s Jay Grimes discusses the drug and alcohol clearinghouse with Land Line Now

Clearinghouse

Nevertheless, FMCSA is set to move forward with all other requirements of the clearinghouse program.

A rundown of what truck drivers and trucking companies need to know about the clearinghouse and how to register can be found here.

The clearinghouse is intended to be a secure online database allowing FMCSA, commercial motor vehicle employers, state driver licensing agencies, and law enforcement officials to quickly identify CDL holders who have violated federal drug and alcohol testing requirements. A December 2016 final rule to establish the clearinghouse was mandated by Congress in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century Act.

The clearinghouse will contain records of violations of drug and alcohol prohibitions, including positive drug or alcohol test results and test refusals. When a driver completes the return-of-duty process and follow-up testing plan, this information also will be recorded in the clearinghouse.

FMCSA’s clearinghouse website provides information on what steps CDL holders, employers, and owner-operators with their own authority need to take to be compliant by Jan. 6.

For CDL holders

Clearinghouse registration is not a required step for drivers. If a driver is never required to provide consent to a pre-employment or other full query and never incurs a drug and alcohol program violation, then the driver will not need to register.

However, a driver will need to be registered to provide electronic consent in the clearinghouse for a prospective or current employer to conduct a full query of his or her driving record. Beginning Jan. 6, a full query will be required during a pre-employment screening for a CDL holder. Failing to consent to a query will result in a driver being prohibited from performing safety-sensitive functions for the employer conducting the query.

In addition, a driver must also be registered to view the information electronically in his or her own clearinghouse record. So drivers don’t necessarily have to register, but they may still want to do so.

For employers

Beginning Jan. 6, employers will be required to report drug and alcohol violations and conduct queries.

Violations to be reported include alcohol test results with a concentration of .04 or greater, refusals to take an alcohol or drug test, as well as actual knowledge of a violation. Employers will also report negative return-to-duty test results and the successful completion of a driver’s follow-up testing plan. The information must be reported by the close of the third business day after the employer is notified.

Employers are required to conduct full queries on prospective employees to see if they are prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle because of unresolved drug and alcohol violations. Employers also must query all current employees at last once a year. All queries require driver consent.

For owner-operators

Owner-operators with their own authority are subject to the requirements pertaining to employers as well as those pertaining to drivers.

That means owner-operators are required to conduct queries on themselves at least once a year.

Owner-operators with their own authority must designate a consortium or third-party administrator.

Registration for the clearinghouse can be done here. There is no cost to register.