In our recent newsletters, we've been talking about the Federal Motor Carriers Clearinghouse that debuts this fall. The clearinghouse will be the controlling national database of drug and alcohol history for all commercial driver's license holders.
Starting in October, registration will be open for employers, drivers, substance abuse professionals, medical review officers and consortia/third party administrators, as well as those assigned the role of "assistant" representing these organizations.
Implementation begins in January 2020, with all users required to report violations. Until January 2023, users must continue to use the manual system that is currently employed in addition to the new database. This will ensure that three years of data can be collected, which is the number of years mandated by FMCSA in a drug and alcohol history search.
How does your consortium management company or third-party administrator figure into this?
Employers outsource much of their drug screening program to a third party administrator. TPAs will register for the clearinghouse in October. To ensure data security, a company that intends to utilize a TPA must select that TPA within the clearinghouse to allow it access to that company's information. TPAs cannot report violations until that selection and cross-match have been made. Owners/operators who employ themselves are REQUIRED to select a TPA.
Once selected, the TPA can provide many services for the employer. The TPA can enter drug and alcohol violation information. When a company is in the hiring process, every driver must give consent for a drug and alcohol history search to be completed. The TPA is allowed to request consent from the applicant and then do drug and alcohol history searches, both electronically and manually, as both need to be done for the next three years. As most employers are already connected to third party administrators for substance screening, resulting and reporting, the history searches can be efficiently managed by the TPA. We encourage you to contact your provider early to ensure a smooth transition when January arrives.
Another frequent visitor to the clearinghouse will be
Medical Review Officers (MRO). MRO offices will register just like everyone else. These users will report information regarding violations into the database. MRO offices will not have query capability. An employer may review the training and certification requirements of their MRO within the database. Most TPAs work directly with one MRO.
The
Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) will also need to register within the clearinghouse. Once a driver has a violation, he/she will need to select the SAP they are working with to ensure proper reporting on the Return to Duty process. The SAP will not have query capability within the database.
DATES TO REMEMBER
OCTOBER 2019 - Registration Begins
JANUARY 2020 - Implementation MANDATORY
JANUARY 2020 to JANUARY 2013 - Manual and Electronic Searches MUST both be done.
WHO DOES WHAT
Driver
- registers as user
- gives consent for searches
- selects the SAP when needed.
Employer
- registers as user
- selects a TPA
- requests driver consent
- makes driver history queries
- reports violations
- reports on Return to Duty and Follow Up testing.
TPA
- registers as user
- requests driver consent on employer's behalf
- queries driver history on employer's behalf
- reports drug and alcohol violations
- reports on Return to Duty and Follow Up testing.
MRO
- registers as a user
- reports drug and alcohol violations.
SAP
- registers as a user
- reports on Return to Duty initial assessment and eligibility of Return to Duty test.
There is a lot to learn about the FMCSA Clearinghouse! The staff at TSS has been working diligently to prepare for the launching of the database to ensure our customers can count on us to get this work done efficiently. Many of you have told us that it is easier if you run the trucking company and we get this work done for you. Please know that we stand ready to make that happen. Don't hesitate to
contact us with questions.
