Can you require a potential new hire to get a copy of their driving record from the DMV before you extend the offer to them for the job?

Probably not.

 

Normally you see job offer letters that state that the offer is contingent upon a satisfactory review of background check information.  Essentially, you have to say the person is hired as long as.... rather than peek first.  That would be typical for many kinds of testing and most if not all background checks.  Pam has drivers and will probably give us the detailed facts when she sees this.

If the position requires that the employee drive as part of their job responsibilities and/or a driver's license is a minimum requirement for the job, I think it is a sound business practice to check a job applicant's driving record. This could easily be made part of a company's background check process.

6364548:

If the position requires that the employee drive as part of their job responsibilities and/or a driver's license is a minimum requirement for the job, I think it is a sound business practice to check a job applicant's driving record. This could easily be made part of a company's background check process.

 

Of course -- but the question is about whether the proper time to do the check is before or after a job offer has been extending.  Unless a DOT expert can step up and say otherwise, I think the answer has to be after the (contingent) job offer, in keeping with best practices in other types of background checks.

You should not ask potential new hires for a driving record as part of the application process.  We make hiring contingent on all background checks including their driving record.  The information that you need for a DMV check for example, can give you information that should not be used as part of the hiring process.  For example, the applicants date of birth.  It's best to make the offer contingent on the checks to avoid a discrimination suit later. 

I can understand wanting to skip the step and know before hand, but the liability is not worth it. 

There is nothing in the DOT reg's that I can think of that requires/allows you to check an applicants background prior to the offer.  Best practice is to check only after the offer.  There is too much room for a discrimination suit later due to age, race, etc.  You are asking for a lot of personal information that should only be shared with you after you have made your hiring decision.  Most background check information is run together and ask for your DOB, Drivers License number, and Social Security number.  None of which you should be asking for before you hire.  Background checks also require a release from the new hire, unless you want to ask for the release to be signed when your potential candidates fill it outand application.  If that's the case, then you need to be sure that you are archiving those applications properly and destroying the information within Fair Credit standards. 

Thank you for the info. We are a Small Business Government Contractor that has grown recently and I have been transformed into the HR guy. The HR world to me right now is like drinking out of a fire hose. Thanks again for your replies.

 JD

One way I have seen to get around this is to show a job description that includes essential functions and criteria to the applicant during an  interview. On that JD, you can list minimum requirements. One of those can be a "valid drivers license" or a "clean driving record" as long as the job position backs up the need (i.e. the employee will drive a company vehicle, etc).  Obviously if this person is going to be washing dishes, it wouldn't back up the need for that criteria.

Ask the applicant to read the JD and ask if they have any issues that preclude them from fulfilling the JD.  If you ask this of all applicants, you should be okay from a nondiscrimination viewpoint as long as you can match it back to the positions needs.

 

HRforME:

One way I have seen to get around this is to show a job description that includes essential functions and criteria to the applicant during an  interview. On that JD, you can list minimum requirements. One of those can be a "valid drivers license" or a "clean driving record" as long as the job position backs up the need (i.e. the employee will drive a company vehicle, etc).  Obviously if this person is going to be washing dishes, it wouldn't back up the need for that criteria.

Ask the applicant to read the JD and ask if they have any issues that preclude them from fulfilling the JD.  If you ask this of all applicants, you should be okay from a nondiscrimination viewpoint as long as you can match it back to the positions needs.

We've done something like that in the past but did it as a questionnaire that was signed by the applicant.  That way, if it turns out they lied about anything, there can be no debate as to whether or not they misrepresented their ability to do the job during the application process.

Sorry to be weighing in on this a little late, but, I can't imagine making a job offer to a driving employee before knowing what his driving record is.  I work for a trucking company and a valid drivers license and a good driving record are job requirements.  We ran our applications and process by one of the state's top employment law firms and they have found no problems with our either. 

HR pre qualifies applicants to be interviewed by the hiring managers.  We have 2 applications, one for CDL drivers and one for non-CDL applicants.  Both applications ask the question "If position requires driving a company vehicle, please give date of birth.  Non driving applicants skip this question.  Driving applicants are required to sign a consent/authorization/release form allowing us to pull an MVR from a third party agency.  The 3rd party agency requires name, dob, ssn, gender, race, DL # and issuing state in order to pull the MVR.  An applicant whose MVR does not meet our valid drivers license and good driving record requirement is not scheduled for an interview and is sent a letter notifying them that based on their MVR they did not meet our minimum qualifications.

This process works well for us.  It has sped up our hiring process, allowed us to focus our interviewing time on qualified applicants, and kept us from making job offers that must be rescinded. 

hrokie:

Sorry to be weighing in on this a little late, but, I can't imagine making a job offer to a driving employee before knowing what his driving record is.  I work for a trucking company and a valid drivers license and a good driving record are job requirements.  We ran our applications and process by one of the state's top employment law firms and they have found no problems with our either. 

HR pre qualifies applicants to be interviewed by the hiring managers.  We have 2 applications, one for CDL drivers and one for non-CDL applicants.  Both applications ask the question "If position requires driving a company vehicle, please give date of birth.  Non driving applicants skip this question.  Driving applicants are required to sign a consent/authorization/release form allowing us to pull an MVR from a third party agency.  The 3rd party agency requires name, dob, ssn, gender, race, DL # and issuing state in order to pull the MVR.  An applicant whose MVR does not meet our valid drivers license and good driving record requirement is not scheduled for an interview and is sent a letter notifying them that based on their MVR they did not meet our minimum qualifications.

This process works well for us.  It has sped up our hiring process, allowed us to focus our interviewing time on qualified applicants, and kept us from making job offers that must be rescinded. 

What makes this work is that you pull records for every applicant.  Most companies don't want the expense or hassle.