BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Verifying a truck driver’s employment history can mean hours of phone calls, emails and follow-up requests for trucking companies working to fill open positions. A new artificial intelligence tool from Double Nickel aims to reduce that workload by automating much of the process.
Double Nickel, a provider of driver recruiting and compliance technology for trucking carriers, has launched Vera, an AI-powered tool designed to handle employment verifications for recruiting and safety departments.
According to the company, Vera identifies contacts at a driver’s previous employers, submits verification requests and follows up by phone or email until the necessary information is received. The system also maintains records of verification attempts to support compliance with federal regulations.
Under Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations, motor carriers must investigate a prospective driver’s safety performance history with DOT-regulated employers from the preceding three years. Carriers generally must complete the investigation within 30 days of the driver’s employment start date and document their efforts to obtain the required information.
For many carriers, the process still involves manually locating employer contacts, making phone calls, sending emails and tracking responses.
According to Double Nickel, Vera can be tailored to each carrier’s existing procedures. The system automatically initiates the verification process and:
- Identifies the appropriate contact or platform at each previous employer. If contact information is unavailable, Vera attempts to locate the correct person, submits the verification request and saves the information for future use.
- Follows up by phone and email on a consistent schedule until the verification is completed.
- Maintains an audit trail of verification attempts, including call recordings and transcripts.
The tool also schedules follow-up communications and maintains an audit trail of verification attempts, including call recordings and transcripts.
In early beta testing with Double Nickel customers, the company reports that Vera completed an average of 40% of employment verifications without human intervention. Those verifications were completed four times faster than the manual process, according to Double Nickel. The company did not specify the number of verifications included in the testing.
“Fleets we talk to consistently tell us that employment verifications remain one of the most manual, time-consuming parts of the driver hiring process,” said Francisco López Roualdes, CEO and co-founder of Double Nickel. “Vera takes that work off their plate, so qualified drivers aren’t left waiting on verifications to be done while another carrier makes them an offer.”
Vera is available to all Double Nickel customers. The company says carriers are charged only for completed verifications.
For more information, visit getdoublenickel.com/employment-verification.
Linda Garner-Bunch has been with The Trucker since 2020, picking up the reins as managing editor in 2022. Linda has nearly 40 years of experience in the publishing industry, covering topics from the trucking and automotive industry to employment, real estate, home decor, crafts, cooking, weddings, high school sports — you name it, she’s written about it. She is also an experienced photographer, designer and copy editor who has a heartfelt love for the trucking industry, from the driver’s seat to the C-suite.
