How to Rehire Drivers Quickly After the COVID Crisis

It’s been about a month since our nation was impacted by the COVID pandemic. During these challenging times, business owners everywhere are being called upon to make the best decisions for both their company and employees.

One such decision – as difficult as it is to make – is to temporarily reduce employee headcount to keep the company operational. This is certainly a very difficult decision – and not one that any business owner takes lightly. However, if you do find yourself in a position where you do need to put employees on furlough, there are some steps you can take (both now and upon rehire) to ensure the process runs as smoothly as possible.

1. Encourage drivers to stay in a random selection pool. Drivers put on furlough can remain in your random selection pool, which will eliminate the need for a pre-employment drug test once the are rehired.
2. Keep all driver qualification files up to date. If you plan on rehiring a driver, you should continue maintaining their driver file even while they aren’t driving for you. It’s important to note that some documents will likely expire during this time, as CDLs and Medical Cards can’t be updated in most areas. You’ll want to have a plan for updating these documents as soon as it’s possible to do so. You can read more about this FMCSA waiver here.
3. Enroll all drivers (including those on furlough) in an MVR Monitoring Program so you can monitor CDL activity and ensure you know about any accidents, license suspensions or other unsafe driving  habits that occurred while they were operating for another carrier. Having this information will allow you to get drivers back on the road quickly without needing to go through the typical background screening process.

At Foley, we’re here to support you in any way we can. If you have questions about hiring/rehiring drivers, or your general compliance programs, we encourage you to reach out at (800) 253-5506. We can help ensure that you have the processes and systems in place to hire and rehire drivers quickly and compliantly.