Query Changes for Pre-Employment Requirements for Drug and Alcohol Program Violations

The DCL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse has served as a repository for drug and alcohol program violations since January 2020. Now, with three years of drug and alcohol program violation data stored in the Clearinghouse, employers are no longer required to conduct manual inquiries with previous employers of potential driver’s violations. There is one exception. If the driver worked for a non-DOT regulated company, that information won’t be held at the Clearinghouse and employers will still be required to manually request violation information since it won’t be reported to Clearinghouse.

Employers must conduct a pre-employment query of the Clearinghouse to determine if the driver has violated the drug and alcohol regulations of any Department of Transportation (DOT) mode within the past three years.

Annual query requirements—performed on a rolling 12-month basis—have not changed and employers of CDL drivers must conduct a query in the Clearinghouse at least once a year for each CDL driver they employ.

Employers must receive consent from CDL drivers before conducting limited queries in the Clearinghouse.  General consent is not required to be obtained on an annual basis, as it may be effective for more than one year. However, the form must specify the time frame the driver is providing consent for, such as for the duration of the driver’s employment.

Are you up-to-date on your annual queries?

Log in to the Clearinghouse and visit your Query History page to see if your annual queries are due. For instructions on conducting annual queries, download the How to Conduct a Limited Query job aid.

Is Your Fleet Management Software up-to-date?

DOT rules and regulations changes can come fast and furious, and keeping up isn’t always easy. With Compliance Safety Manager’s fleet management software, you don’t have to know all the rules because our software does!

Schedule a demo today!