Meeting Requirements for Employer Background Screenings in the Trucking Industry
Issues of personal and national security have prompted great changes in the trucking industry where background checking is concerned. Today, employers must meet strict requirements for background checking of individuals providing transportation services in their name.
Background checks for employees in the trucking industry range from verification of identity to evaluation of the individual’s driving record to checks against a watchlist of persons suspected of engaging in terrorist activity; additionally, drug screening and random drug testing is the responsibility of trucking employers as well. Since so many materials that are transported across the nation’s highways on a daily basis have the potential to cause vast and irreparable harm, the trucking industry has become a main focus of safety initiatives at both state and federal levels.
In addition to those background checks that are legally required of employers in the trucking industry by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), other checks may be performed in the interest of providing an employer with the best possible protection from liability and lawsuits. Between what is federally required and what is just good common sense, an array of background checks might be performed, including
- Verification of identity and social security number
- Verification of residence and contact details
- Verification of past good employment (because you can’t just take the subject’s word for it)
- Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) check and/or 3 year driving history check (required by FMCSA)
- Terrorism watchlist checks in accordance with federal Patriot Act
- State DMV reports for violations in state of primary residence
- Criminal database searches
- Sex offender database searches
- DOT required drug testing
Trucking background checks have been the subject of much debate and are continually updated, partially as a result of such debate. For employers, this means that keeping up with the most current changes in background checks for the trucking industry is a complex and ongoing process. Performing background checks inaccurately or incompletely could lead to costly legal fines and liability lawsuits.
For many trucking businesses, the most efficient, safe, and cost effective means of meeting trucking background check requirements is to find a well-qualified security agency and partner with them for all of the business’s background checking and verification needs. Security companies are specialists in background checking who have a number of tools, systems, and service partnerships at their disposal for fast, complete, accurate, and low-cost reporting.
Providers such as these eliminate the vagaries and guesswork that is inherent within regulations, and work in close partnership with businesses to see to all of their background checking needs, ensuring that every legal requirement for trucking industry background checks is adhered to. Since it is their job, security agencies have the personnel, time, and resources to follow every legislative change that might affect trucking background checking so they always know precisely what is required of (and in the best interest of) the company.
