“To require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to implement a national employer notification service.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section defines “employer notification service” as a system that automatically notifies employers of changes to an employee’s commercial driver’s license record due to moving violation convictions, failures to appear, accidents, suspensions, revocations, or other actions against driving privileges. It requires the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), to issue a final regulation within one year of enactment mandating implementation of a national employer notification service accessible by states. Before issuing the regulation, the Secretary must consider recommendations from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) report “Employer Notification System Design & Best Practices Recommendations” (prepared under FMCSA grant FMCDL–0143–13–01–03) and results of a 2007 pilot program under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (P.L. 105-178) assessing feasibility, costs, safety benefits, and data exchange methods.
This section requires each state, not later than two years after the Secretary of Transportation issues a final regulation requiring a national employer notification service, to use the service to notify employers of reports described in section 2(a). It further (1) directs the Secretary, after that two-year period, to incorporate the service into commercial driver's license (CDL) program requirements and standards under 49 CFR part 384, including noncompliance consequences; (2) requires employers with one or more employees holding a CDL with school bus endorsement (49 CFR 383.123) to participate in the service; (3) makes state implementation costs allowable under CDL program implementation grants (49 U.S.C. 31313); and (4) exempts participating employers from annual driving record inquiry and review requirements (49 CFR 391.25). (Thus, the service enhances commercial motor vehicle safety, particularly for school buses, by promptly alerting employers to CDL suspensions or revocations.)
This section designates a school district, local educational agency, or school as an “employer” for purposes of the national employer notification service if it organizes, sponsors, or pays for transportation of preprimary, primary, and secondary students to or from school or on extracurricular trips. If such an entity pays a private company or proprietorship to provide those transportation services, both the entity and the company or proprietorship are considered “employers.”
This section directs the Secretary, in developing the final regulation under section 2(a), to ensure that an employee receives simultaneous notification and a copy of any report furnished to the employer by the national employer notification service.