Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse Site Crashes
If you employ CDL drivers, and they operate commercial motor vehicles on a public highway, you are required to register in the new Federal Motor Carrier Administration Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse as of January 6, 2020. The purpose of the Clearinghouse is to conduct and manage pre-employment and annual drug & alcohol queries on your CDL employees.
HOWEVER, we just received word today that FMCSA is having many issues with their Clearinghouse website, which either crashes or is inaccessible. To see for yourself here is the website: https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov/ Sometimes you can get in, sometimes you can't. Acknowledging the problem, FMCSA has issued this statement:
"If you are an employer currently experiencing technical difficulties accessing the Clearinghouse and are unable to conduct required pre-employment queries, you may hire a driver using solely the procedures set forth in 49 CFR 391.23(e). Once FMCSA has determined and announced that users are able to access the Clearinghouse, pre-employment queries must also be conducted as required by section 382.701(a).
This means that if you cannot get registered, just continue to use your current process for conducting pre-employment drug testing. IFCA has a regulatory workshop scheduled for January 21, 2020 at the IFCA Convention that will provide more detailed information on the Clearinghouse and how it applies to companies who employ CDL drivers. For a more detailed explanation of the Clearinghouse requirement, the Asmark Institute has provided this guidance document. To see the IFCA convention schedule which includes details on the Regulatory Workshop on January 21, click here or contact our office for assistance.