As a new decade begins, so does the reign of CVTA’s newest chairman. During our 2019 Fall Conference, Brad Barber said his final goodbyes as Chairman and passed over the duties to Larry Marsh with JTL Truck Driver Training. Read Larry’s thoughts on the coming year for CVTA and the trucking industry.
Letter From Chairman, Larry Marsh
“CVTA has been working hard for its members. We recently met with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to discuss a number of items important for CVTA members. One of the issues we raised to FMCSA officials is that schools need to be recognized by the FMCSA as schools, not motor carriers or employers., which is the current category where schools have fallen into. CVTA discussed that Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations must recognize schools apart from motor carriers or employers because we are inherently different. This is especially true when the FMCSA is designing and writing regulations.
One of the outcomes of this meeting was that the FMCSA informed CVTA of a recent case where the FMCSA determined a student was not an “employee” of the school nor was the school considered an “employer”. CVTA is excited by this decision because of the FMCSA properly-recognized student for what they are…students, not employees.
This decision will also likely impact a school’s compliance with the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse in terms of compliance for students, not their instructors, who are employees of the school. However, we strongly recommend that schools do not change their current process until the FMCSA formally provides clarification on this point. CVTA believes that schools will still need to query their instructors and others on your payroll.
There are other parts of this ruling which need further review. CVTA will be researching these and offer further information in the near future. To view the FMCSA decision, please click here.”