OOIDA says self-employed drivers shouldn’t need to file a job application

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has submitted formal comments regarding the FMCSA’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking on possible changes to the requirement to have prospective drivers complete a job application.

As part of the comments delivered on May 7, OOIDA said the requirement should be eliminated for self-employed owner-operators.

“The information collected from the employment application is generally duplicative to the data provided during the MC/DOT number and operating authority registration processes,” OOIDA wrote in a letter signed by President and CEO Todd Spencer.

Regarding motor carriers that employ additional drivers, OOIDA said the current requirement is generally accepted as a sufficient method for providing previous work history.

“OOIDA feels the questions listed in the application can be improved with some slight modifications, including limiting the scope of the inquiry to the last three years of employment,” the Association wrote.

The job application currently asks drivers to list their work history for the past 10 years.

“This requirement is burdensome and unnecessary,” the Association wrote. “The most recent three years of employment history would provide a substantive background for motor carriers.”

OOIDA added that some of the information required can easily be found by motor carriers through other sources.

“Motor carriers and safety officials could find ticket and/or accident records through a driver’s Motor Vehicle Report,” OOIDA wrote. “FMCSA’s pre-employment screening program also provides carriers, individual drivers and industry service providers access to commercial drivers’ safety records from the Motor Carrier Management Information System.”