Current job doesn’t show up on DAC until employment terminated

But not to worry — in fact, looking for a job while you are still employed offers many advantages. One of the advantages is that a potential employer — seeing that you are still employed — may reason that you are a good employee/driver because if you weren’t, you would have been terminated by the employer.

By DEREK HINTON
The Trucker News Services

10/6/2008

Son, if you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet! They're about to announce the lottery numbers. — Homer Simpson

One of the more common questions I receive concerns why a current employer does not show up on a USIS “DAC” report.

A driver will call me, has received his DAC report, is currently working for a carrier trying to build a good record … and the experience doesn’t even show up.

They’ve worked hard, been accident free, done a great job and are displeased that this employment is missing on the report.

Typically, the question (and answer) go something like this:

Question: I have been working for John Doe Motor Carrier for two full years. In that time, I have driven 48 states, been drug tested multiple times and driven hundreds of thousands of miles. In fact, I am still working for them.

I know that this company is a member of USIS/DAC and reports employment history on drivers—and yet, I obtained my report and this company does not show up. I am looking for a new job and am concerned that this employment not showing will goof me up. Is this a mistake or is someone hiding something?

Answer: The reason the employment does not show up is because it has not yet been reported by your current employer. It has not been reported by your current employer because your employment history for a particular period of service with a company is not complete until your employment terminates with that employer. When your employment terminates, the employer evaluates your whole period of service and then reports to USIS on the standard employment history report.

But not to worry — in fact, looking for a job while you are still employed offers many advantages. One of the advantages is that a potential employer — seeing that you are still employed — may reason that you are a good employee/driver because if you weren’t, you would have been terminated by the employer.

Therefore, the process may work like this. Your potential employer will check your background previous to your current employment. If your prior record looks good and the potential employer’s offering looks good to you, the employer will request permission to check with your current employer and potentially make a conditional job offer contingent on acceptable experience with this company and passage of their normal pre-employment drug/driving and orientation requirements. And so, the two years of employment do matter and the employment will be checked by prospective employers.

In fact, if you do cease employment with the previous carrier and begin working for the new company, the previous carrier (assuming they are reporting members of USIS) will report your employment history to USIS — usually within a month of termination of employment. While employed with your new carrier you may recheck your DAC report to see what your former employer reported.

Derek Hinton is CEO of TIES LLC, better known as DOTJobHistory.com. DOTJobHistory allows drivers to obtain and verify their employment (DAC), driving and criminal records. They may then make this information available over the Web to employers who can access the information instantly.

Hinton has more than 20 years experience in the areas of employment screening, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Motor Carrier Safety regulations. He began his career at DAC Services in 1984 and is the author of “The Criminal Records Manual,” a book that details criminal records in the hiring process. Contact information for Hinton can be found at dotjobhistory.com.