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09/30/2008
Trucking News: Invisible Employment Histories
Category: Trucking News
Posted by: Craig Zwiener
by Derek Hinton - DotJobHistory.com Archeological Dig Uncovers Ancient Race of Skeleton People. - - Headline from The Onion Sometimes the facts are there but the wrong conclusion is drawn. It’s happened to two of our driver members in the past month. I’ll summarize the scenario.
The driver has applied for a job with company ABC. The company refused to hire the driver. The driver asks why and is told “your DAC shows two accidents with past employer XYZ.”
So, we have obtained the “DAC report” on behalf of the driver, and…the DAC report did not contain any employment history—let alone accidents—from company XYZ.
What’s happened? Is the DAC report hiding something—giving information to company ABC but not the driver? Did company ABC really have some other reason for not hiring the driver but blamed it on company XYZ’s DAC, thinking the driver would not find out?
In these two cases, and every other situation like this I’ve encountered over the years, here is what happened:
So, why would the company say “your DAC” had two accidents?
The reason is that the term “DAC” has become shorthand in many companies for “background history investigation.” It’s like when allergy season fires up and you need to blow your nose, you don’t ask for a “facial tissue.” You want a “Kleenex” (unless you’re like that rich kid who lived up the street from me in 4th grade who apparently had heard of neither.) Some companies, then, say “there was something on your DAC report” when they mean “we did your background investigation and there was something we found that made us decide not to hire you at this time.” And it’s not just employment history they could be talking about. Sometimes they even mean a driving record or infraction/misdemeanor/felony record they happened to have obtained through USIS/DAC.
How can you find out what past employers may report on you even if they don’t report to USIS/DAC? You have the right to see the employment information reported by all your previous employers in the industry, which you can access in a couple of ways:
Your rights are laid out in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s regulations (§391.23(i)(2)) which can be found here: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.asp?rule_toc=760§ion=391.23§ion_toc=1772 It says:
Drivers who have previous Department of Transportation regulated employment history in the preceding three years, and wish to review previous employer-provided investigative information must submit a written request to the prospective employer, which may be done at any time, including when applying, or as late as 30 days after being employed or being notified of denial of employment. The prospective employer must provide this information to the applicant within five (5) business days of receiving the written request. If the prospective employer has not yet received the requested information from the previous employer(s), then the five-business days deadline will begin when the prospective employer receives the requested safety performance history information. If the driver has not arranged to pick up or receive the requested records within thirty (30) days of the prospective employer making them available, the prospective motor carrier may consider the driver to have waived his/her request to review the records.
Furthermore, you have additional rights in regard to insuring that your employment information is accurate—even if the information did not come from USIS/DAC. Section 391.23 as shown above contains several protections which we will review in upcoming columns.
Submitter Company:: Derek Hinton - DotJobHistory.com
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