Pre-Employment Screening Program Reports and DOT

Pre-Employment Screening Program reports contain private information, which includes “reports of serious driver-related safety violations,” such as drug test failures. Recently, a class-action lawsuit by six truck drivers against the United States Department of Transportation has been refused by the United States supreme court, giving a victory to the DOT. The case alleges that the drivers and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shared sensitive, even private information about the drivers’ past infractions to prospective employers in the Pre-Employment Screening Program reports. The drivers allege that this creates an unfair situation, where these reports take precedent to experience and earnest to perform well in the field.

The 6 truck drivers – backed by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association – believe that these reports disparaged reputations and made it almost impossible to find work due to past mistakes. The plaintiff for the drivers argued in the lawsuit that the Pre-Employment Screening Program reports – or the PSP – are only supposed to contain information about serious safety violations. However, the reports allegedly showcased information like “excessive weight violations, speeding within the 6-10 miles per hour range, and incorrect logs, potentially violating the 1974 Privacy Act.” This act established a code for the fair gathering and curation of information, including the collection, maintenance, and dissemination of individual records maintained by federal agencies.

The DOT’s rebuttal was that the PSP reports did not include private information and that the Privacy Act has been intact. The courts sided with the assertions made by the DOT. In October 2016, the U.S First Circuit of Appeals issued a decision in favor of the DOT. On June 19, 2017 the Supreme Court “denied OOIDA’s petition for the country’s high court to hear its case, effectively ending OOIDA’s bid in the Flock vs. U.S. DOT lawsuit.”

The Pre-Employment Screening Program reports are put into place to ensure DOT employees are not putting the public safety at risk. For many truckers, having past infractions on their reports can mean joblessness, though following the return-to-duty protocol for infractions such as failed drug or alcohol tests can help them regain their position or find another in the safety-sensitive field.

If you are an applicant or employee that has failed a DOT mandated drug or alcohol test, SAP Referral Services can help. Our FastTrack Enrollment Program can help you find a SAP Program in your geographic region. If you need SAP services, and want to get back to work fast, click here.

source: Supreme Court refuses another trucking case, this one about carriers’ access to drivers’ history