Everyone knows that how you start a new trucking job is important. As the saying goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Your conduct, your attire, your driving ability and attention to safety — it’s all on display during the first days at a new job.
But know this: These qualities are also on display on your LAST day at a job.
You might think you no longer care about that carrier or what they think of your performance … but that’s a way of thinking that can come back to haunt you, sometimes sooner than later.
Try to leave on good terms.
The best way to leave a driving job is to discuss your resignation with your immediate supervisor. Be sure to provide enough time for them to route you to a location where the truck can be turned in and reissued.
Following the carrier’s instructions and leaving under the best conditions possible is your best move. Leaving in anger and refusing to cooperate may provide temporary satisfaction when you’re angry — but it seldom helps in your attempt to find another job.
How much notice to give is always a consideration, but the standard two-week notice of other industries doesn’t always work in trucking.
Most states have “right to work” laws that allow an employer to fire you for any reason and with NO notice. Still, a notice can be negotiated, and serving one out can impact what the company reports about you. If you need transportation home, perhaps the carrier will pay foot the bill in exchange for you providing notice and returning the truck in good condition.
Moving on to the next job
Your record follows you.
Most drivers are aware of the “DAC” report, your work history as reported by your former employers that are clients of HireRight. But HireRight provides employers with much more than just work history. Depending on the subscriber, HireRight provides testing results and other information.
While HireRight is perhaps the most well-known background reporting agency, it isn’t the only firm that can report on your background. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to see the information stored in the files of any “consumer reporting agency.”
While most tend to think of credit-reporting agencies when they hear the word “consumer,” in reality any agency that has the ability to store and provide information about you falls under the act — including agencies that report employment information, criminal history and more.
What’s in your file?
Knowing what’s in your background file can help you prepare for questions you might be asked during the recruiting process or at orientation. It can also help you avoid the embarrassment of being accused of omitting or falsifying information on your application or other documents. Most importantly, it gives you the opportunity to dispute any information you don’t agree with.
What kind of information is reported?
For starters, your record will show whether your job performance was satisfactory.
The carrier’s version of how and why you left is also reported. Did you resign or were you fired? What were the circumstances around the event? Did you return the truck to the company terminal or abandon it at a truck stop?
Carriers that have to pay to have the truck retrieved are likely to list “truck abandonment” on your work history. If you abandoned the truck with a customer’s load on board, a “quit under dispatch” entry is likely to appear. An unsatisfactory safety record is often listed — and this always leads to questions to determine whether your record includes traffic violations, accidents or other safety issues.
One entry that’s sometimes reported is “misuse of company funds.” This category can include actions like misusing the company fuel card. It can also apply if you drew a pay advance just prior to quitting. Some carriers’ policy is that cash advances are permissible only while you are employed.
If the equipment you used is found to be damaged — even if the damage happened after you left it — an entry of “unreported accident” or “unreported damage” could appear in your file.
Despite the fact that much of the information reporting process is automated, personal contacts still occur. Office employees change jobs just as drivers do. It’s common for a safety professional to contact a counterpart at another carrier to make inquiries. Some carriers are very careful about what information they’ll disclose, while others are more forthcoming.
Get a copy of your file.
Under FMCSA regulations, you have the right to a copy of any documents a carrier uses when making the decision not to hire you — or to take any other derogatory action, such as hiring you at reduced pay, for a different job category and so on.
However, you MUST ask, in writing, within a reasonable amount of time.
The carrier is only obligated to provide copies of the documents they used in their decision. For example, if your Motor Vehicle Report from the state that issued your CDL shows you have more traffic convictions than the carrier allows, they’ll need to provide a copy. They don’t have to give you other background reports unless they were used in the decision-making process.
Every driver should order copies of their files periodically. To order your file from HireRight, click here and then click on “I want a copy of my HireRight background report” link to request your background. You can also call HireRight’s customer service at 888-503-6995 or fax a written request to 918-664-5520. If you prefer snail mail, send your request to:
HireRight
Attn: Applicant Care Team
14002 E. 21st St., Suite 1200
Tulsa, OK 74134.
Other helpful information
While you were in orientation for your current company, it’s likely you were asked to sign a release that gives the carrier permission to report your work record and other information to the agency they use. You should record the agency’s name, so you’ll know who to contact later.
Finally, you have the right to contest information reported in your file by sending a request to the reporting agency. They are required to contact the carrier that reported the information, who may be willing to change it. If they won’t correct it, you have the right to have your statement listed in the report alongside the information. Clearly stated rebuttals are more effective than “did not!” “did too” arguments.
Leaving a job the right way can pay off when you look for better opportunities in the future.
Cliff Abbott is an experienced commercial vehicle driver and owner-operator who still holds a CDL in his home state of Alabama. In nearly 40 years in trucking, he’s been an instructor and trainer and has managed safety and recruiting operations for several carriers. Having never lost his love of the road, Cliff has written a book and hundreds of songs and has been writing for The Trucker for more than a decade.
