Continuously Requested Questions Concerning the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse – Security & Compliance
Anybody looking for a CDL safety-sensitive place should be ready to grant consent to a full Clearinghouse question through the portal by having a Clearinghouse account.
Picture courtesy J.J. Keller
In January 2020, the Federal Motor Service Security Administration rolled out the federal Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. This digital database was designed to trace business driver’s license (and allow) holders who’ve examined optimistic for prohibited drug or alcohol use, in addition to refusals to take required drug exams, and different drug and alcohol violations. When a driver who has been discovered to be in violation completes the required return-to-duty course of, this info is also recorded within the clearinghouse.
Even happening 4 years later, there are nonetheless questions in regards to the Clearinghouse. Among the many most typical:
Q: Do all CDL drivers want a Clearinghouse account?
A: No, solely people who should consent to a full question. A full question exhibits all the small print that exist on the motive force within the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. A full question requires a driver to log into his or her account to authorize the motor service’s entry to the report.
A pre-employment question is a full question. Anybody looking for a CDL safety-sensitive place should be ready to grant consent through the portal by having an account.
Annual queries carried out by motor carriers on present drivers are, at minimal, a restricted question. A restricted question requires the employer to have the motive force grant consent exterior of the portal.
The restricted question merely states whether or not the motive force has info within the system. If the motive force has a document within the Clearinghouse, the motor service is required to request a full question to be taught particulars. If an present driver is in want of a full question, she or he must have a portal account or create one.
A driver who refuses to grant consent for both a restricted or full question can’t be utilized in a safety-sensitive perform.
Q: Is it a violation if a CDL driver refuses to offer consent to pursue DOT testing historical past? Is it reported to the Clearinghouse as a violation below Half 382?
A: No, it isn’t a violation for a driver to refuse to signal a launch to pursue to DOT testing historical past. The knowledge is confidential, and drivers are inside their rights to say no. Nonetheless, when a driver fails to offer particular written consent on the protection efficiency historical past information request and/or the CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, the employer is unable to make use of the motive force in a safety-sensitive place.
Q: Is an employer required to conduct a pre-employment question of the Clearinghouse for a driver-applicant topic to Half 382 earlier than administering a highway take a look at (§391.31)?
A: No, an employer isn’t required to conduct a pre-employment question of the Clearinghouse earlier than administering a highway take a look at to a potential driver who’s topic to 382.
Underneath §382.701(a), employers are required to question the Clearinghouse when hiring a driver to carry out safety-sensitive features. The highway take a look at happens earlier than the motive force is employed, so employers could conduct a pre-employment question on the time they highway take a look at a potential driver however are usually not required to take action.
