Guidance on how the Clearinghouse impacts employers

Guidance Q&A

How does the Clearinghouse impact employers of commercial driver’s license (CDL) and commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders?

Guidance: The Clearinghouse offers employers a centralized location to query driver information and report drug and alcohol program violations incurred by their current and prospective employees holding CDLs and CLPs. The employer must use the Clearinghouse to:

• Conduct a full query of the Clearinghouse as part of each pre-employment driver investigation process.
• Conduct limited queries at least annually for every driver they employ.
• Request electronic consent from the driver for a full query, including pre-employment queries.
• Report drug and alcohol program violations.
• Record the negative return-to-duty (RTD) test results and the date of successful completion of a follow-up testing plan for any driver they employ with unresolved drug and alcohol program violations.

See 49 CFR 382.701, 382.705