Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/319866
LEADING NEWS, TRUCKING MARKET CONDITIONS AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS A coalition of trucking and enforcement groups says the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration didn't make its proposed drug and alcohol clearing - house rule as thorough as needed. The group wants the agency to issue an amendment adding a require- ment that carriers report observation of "misuse" to the clearinghouse. In a comment posted on the pro- posed rule, seven groups – including the American Trucking Associations, the Truckload Carriers Association and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance – asked FMCSA to issue a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the rule. They want the SNPRM to require employers to "report all instances of actual knowledge of misuse, includ - ing direct observations of misuse and acknowledgements of misuse, to the proposed clearinghouse." The Commercial Driver's License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse rule was proposed in March. Upon its effective date, likely late next year or early 2016, it will establish a database of CDL holders who have failed or refused to take a drug or alcohol test. Carriers will be required to submit such information to the database and will be required to query the database when hiring a new driver. They also will be required to query the database annually for current drivers. To see comments on the rule, visit regulations.gov ; use Docket Number FMCSA-2011-0031. – James Jaillet Rule would prohibit carriers, others from coercing drivers T he Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last month released a proposed rule prohibiting carriers, shippers, brokers and others from coercing drivers to drive beyond hours-of-service limits or to violate other federal rules. The proposed coercion rule also puts in place procedures for drivers to report allegations to the agency and procedures for the agency to respond. The rule in some ways is related to the electronic logging device mandate proposed in March, whose predecessor was tossed in court in 2011 due to lack of protections against driver coercion and harassment. The coercion rule, which has a 90-day comment period from its May 13 publica- tion date, was mandated by language in the current MAP-21 highway funding act. The rule would make it illegal for carri- ers, shippers, receivers or intermediaries (brokers) to coerce drivers by threatening them "with loss of work or other economic opportunities for refusing to operate a CMV under circumstances that those entities knew or should have known would require a driver" to violate FMCSA's hours limits, drug and alcohol testing rules or hazmat regulations, among other rules. These entities have broken the coercion rule if they "fail to heed a driver's objection that the request would require him/her to break the rules," the proposal reads. Drivers' liability to comply with safety rules would not be absolved if they are coerced. The rule would impose a penalty of up to $11,000 per violation on the entities prohib- ited from coercion. The agency would have the authority to suspend or revoke authority from a noncompliant carrier or broker. A driver alleging coercion must file a writ- ten complaint with FMCSA within 60 days of the event, according to the rule, detailing where the coercion happened or the princi- pal place of business of the alleged violator. Complaints must include a driver's name, address and telephone number; the name and address of the person allegedly coerc- ing the driver; the specific provisions of the regulations the driver alleges he or she was coerced to violate; and a brief statement of the facts that substantiate each allegation. The rule says FMCSA then will determine whether the complaint is legitimate and has met the requirements of the regulation before initiating an investigation. The driver complainant will be notified of the findings from any investigation in a "timely" man- ner, the agency says. Comments can be made at regulations.gov using Docket Number FMCSA- 2012-0377. – James Jaillet Scan the QR code with your smartphone or visit ccjdigital.com/news/subscribe-to-news- letters to sign up for the CCJ Daily Report, a daily e-mail newsletter filled with news, analy- sis, blogs and market condition articles. COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | JUNE 2014 9 The coercion rule in some ways is related to the electronic logging device mandate proposed in March. Trucking groups push for closing 'loophole' in clearinghouse rule