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Controlled Substances and Alcohol Use and Testing: FirstGroup plc. Application for Exemption From the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Pre-Employment Full Query

Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.

FMCSA announces that FirstGroup plc (FirstGroup) has applied for an exemption on behalf of three of its subsidiaries, First Student, Inc., First Transit, Inc., and First Mile Square, which employ commercial driver's license (CDL) holders subject to drug and alcohol testing. FirstGroup requests an exemption from the requirement that an employer must conduct a full query of FMCSA's Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse) before employing a CDL holder to perform safety-sensitive functions. Under the requested exemption, in lieu of a full query, FirstGroup would conduct a limited pre-employment query of the Clearinghouse. If the limited query indicated that information about the driver existed in the Clearinghouse, FirstGroup would then conduct a full query of the Clearinghouse, with the driver-applicant providing consent in the Clearinghouse as required. In addition, FirstGroup would conduct a second limited query within 30 to 35 days of the initial limited query and conduct multiple limited queries on all its CDL drivers each year thereafter.

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