Correcting and Disputing Your Employment/Driving/Criminal History

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones-but words will never hurt me.

Yeah right. Meanwhile, back here on Planet Earth, words said by your previous employers can hurt you-they may keep you from getting the job you want.

When you apply for a commercial driving job, federal regulations require your prospective employer to perform a background investigation. Many trucking companies (and most of the largest) use a private company to help them obtain this information. The most used company is USIS, previously known as DAC Services. Potential employers, upon obtaining your permission, may obtain information on your employment, driving, criminal and work comp history. The employment history is stored at USIS by your former employers that subscribe to USIS.

Information from your former employers is reported to USIS upon you leaving the company-USIS/DAC does not have an up-to-the-minute employment history on you. If you are still employed by a company and another company gets your DAC employment history, there should be no information on the DAC about your current period of employment.

When looking for a new driving job or just being prepared, there are several things I would recommend.

1. While you are still employed, obtain your DAC information as well as other information (such as your driving record) that most potential employers will obtain when considering your application. (You may obtain your DAC report, MVR, Criminal Record/Infraction database scan and other information potential employers will see via computer at www.dotjobhistory.com.) You may also obtain your DAC report by mail by calling USIS at 800-381-0645)
2. Review the information to insure it is accurate. Even items on the report such as "period of service" can be important if they do not align with the dates you put on your application. If you do disagree with information on the report, here's what you should do:
3. 1. Call USIS and dispute the information with which you disagree. USIS then has 30 days to contact the contributing employer and verify the information. If, for whatever reason this cannot be done, the disputed information will be removed.
   2. Contact the employer that put in the information and dispute the information they are providing. Why contact the employer in addition to USIS? One good reason is that many potential employers will, in addition to obtaining your DAC report, also call your previous employer. You want both avenues of communication corrected.
   3. Even if the original information is not deleted or changed, you can add a statement to your DAC report that gives your version of events. Your statement should be as factual as possible. A 500 word rebuttal in which you profanely rip your former employer a new one may feel really good to write-really good-but probably won't help you get the job you want.
4. Once you have your records in order, attempt to get a new job while you have your old job. Your job offer may be contingent on the background check with your current employer, but presumably, if you are still employed, the check will not be a deal breaker. Of course, you should disclose any experience with your current employer that might matter. For example, some companies will not hire a driver if they've had an at fault left of center accident in the past year. If you've had one with your current employer, this could eliminate some potential employers.

In summary, prepare for you next job before you lose your current job by obtaining, correcting and using the information potential employers will review.

Pull Quote:

(You may obtain your DAC report, MVR, Criminal Record/Infraction database scan and other information potential employers will see via computer at www.dotjobhistory.com.) You may also obtain your DAC report by mail by calling USIS at 800-381-0645)