Independent drivers file suit against FMCSA

   Members of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association allege the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is sharing pre-employment screening results illegally by giving employers driver safety data.
   The drivers filed a class-action lawsuit Wednesday alleging that the data the FMCSA shares goes “far beyond its statutory authority,” according to an OOIDA press release. The agency is allowed to share driver data for serious violations only. The Secretary of the Department of Transportation decides which violations can be reported, but the drivers are arguing that violations shown on their reports, which have been shared with potential employers, have not bee identified by the DOT.
   The drivers said that by sharing data from drivers who don’t have serious violations, the agency is “acting willfully to disparage the safety records of individual drivers,” the press release stated.
   Six drivers brought the suit in a federal Boston court, and they are seeking $1,000 for each violation. They also are seeking class status to ensure other drivers receive compensation for these alleged violations.
   “FMCSA’s actions in implementing the PSP program demonstrate their deliberate ineptness and disregard for clear statutory limitations,” Jim Johnston, president of OOIDA, said in a statement.