DOT Clearinghouse Enforcement Update

In the two months since the Clearinghouse went into effect there have been some significant impacts – among them: 

1,200 new drug and alcohol violations are added per week. And with most companies waiting to run annual queries until later in the year, many drivers could have a positive test result with one carrier (perhaps while attempting to gain employment elsewhere) while continuing to operate for another. 

The FMCSA will be requiring auditors to ask about Clearinghouse compliance during safety audits and compliance reviews. The areas that auditors will examine are: 

*Whether the employer is registered in the Clearinghouse

*Whether the employer has been conducting pre-employment queries on all new CDL drivers

*Whether the employer has been conducting at least one query per year on all current CDL drivers

*Whether the employer has the required consent to run limited and full Clearinghouse queries

*Whether the employer has been reporting all violations to the Clearinghouse

 Obviously, if these things aren’t being done, a company can incur fines and/or out-of-service orders. 

This article might be helpful: DOT Clearinghouse Enforcement Update

Should you have any questions, or need assistance with your Clearinghouse process, please let me know – I’m always happy to help!