The U.S. Department of Transportation requires that driver applicants provide all employment for the past THREE years. Prior to hiring, all driver applicants must also provide commercial driver employment for the SEVEN years immediately preceding this three year period. Driver applicants must account for any gaps in employment during this period. (Notable – FMCSA page)
Excerpts From FMCSR Subpart C - Background and character § 391.21 Application for employment.
§ 391.21Application for employment.
(11) For those drivers applying to operate a commercial motor vehicle as defined by Part 383 of this subchapter, a list of the names and addresses of the applicant's employers during the 7-year period preceding the 3 years contained in paragraph (b)(10) of this section for which the applicant was an operator of a commercial motor vehicle, together with the dates of employment and the reasons for leaving such employment; ....
However, prospective employers are only required to VERIFY the last 3 years of that 10 year history.
Excerpts From FMCSR Subpart C - Background and character § 391.23 Investigation and inquiries.
391.23 Investigation and inquiries
(2) An investigation of the driver's safety performance history with Department of Transportation regulated employers during the preceding three years.
(d) The prospective motor carrier must investigate, at a minimum, the information listed in this paragraph from all previous employers of the applicant that employed the driver to operate a CMV within the previous three years.
(e) In addition to the investigations required by paragraph (d) of this section, the prospective motor carrier employers must investigate the information listed below in this paragraph from all previous DOT regulated employers that employed the driver within the previous three years from the date of the employment application, in a safety-sensitive function that required alcohol and controlled substance testing specified by 49 CFR part 40.
So a service like DAC is necessary to the trucking industry. But if the service is only in it for the money it can collect from selling inaccurate, outdated, and flawed background reports to trucking companies, without caring how those reports affect a driver's employability, something should be done to force the service to comply with the Federal Regulations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Services like HireRight's DAC reports ARE regulated by the same laws that govern credit reporting agencies like Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
My personal opinion is that, since drivers were merely applying for jobs instead of loans, HireRite (and others) didn't think it was really necessary comply with the FCRA. Moreover, HireRight wouldn't listen to anything a driver had to say (dispute) because they made no money from driver disputes. This is why I'm elated that a driver has been successful in initiating the class action lawsuit against HireRight.
Who is DAC? (theCyberTruckStop.com)
DAC Trucking Solutions (HireRight)
DAC Employment History File (HireRight)
Our proprietary DAC Employment History File contains historical employment records from more than 2,500 motor carriers, and acts as a ‘file cabinet’ for participating members who are required to submit records to gain access to the database. Currently containing over 5.7 million records, with thousands added every month, the DAC Employment History File is the only employment history database of its kind in the transportation industry. And since usage is contingent upon the exchange of information, you gain access to an efficient, industry-exclusive repository with the most comprehensive picture available.Aside from whatever (personal) criminal and legal histories HireRight can glean from court websites,et., I've often wondered if trucking companies were obliged to submit negative employment information about drivers in order to gain access to the DAC Employment History File. I know from personal experience that, in the past, trucking companies seemed more than anxious to report bad and misleading information.
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcrajump.shtm
