Does knight hire drivers with sleep apnea ?

use to work for Knjght in Fontaba,CA they do not test for sleep apena. Charles58

 

I just.happened upon this thread... I work for a different carrier and was flagged for a sleep study. I was diagnosed with apnea and do have a cpap machine. My carrier however has inverters installed so its not a problem.

Sleep apnea, much like hypertension (high blood pressure) is a disqualifying condition UNLESS it is treated. BP is treated with meds, Apnea with a machine. Had I refused to get the machine I would not have been hired.

In short as long as it is treated, you should have no problems with employment. There is some confusion as to wether it is covered under the American With Disabilities Act as far as discrimination goes, but I know of nothing difinitive.

 

....an interesting thread.....so how does an inverter work with a CPAP, do you have to idle all night, is an APU a better
option?

 

I have an APU

 

Sleep apnea is a problem because it causes the sleeper to stop breathing for short periods of time, thus lowering you blood oxygen levels, thus causing you to feel what some would say grogginess, depression, blurry, strain. No they can't just look your BMI and determine it, but there are a few things that you might have said to lead them to it. Alcohol can start a sleeping habit which leads to apnea, if they clip that little oxygen reader onto the end of your finger and you have a bad reading, you will almost instantly be flagged for it. Doesn't mean you actually have it but you are suspect.

 

Yea, they check for sleep apnea. If you test positive, you get sent home. I think you need to have insurance, or just pay for it yourself. I had insurance, did not cost a thing. The CPAP machine can be plugged into the inverter that the shop installs in your truck.

 

I have sleep apnea.(diagnosed 2002) .. and am part of a support group for truck drivers with sleep apnea...

awake.truckersforacause.com.

1) Powering your CPAP. There are three models of CPAP on the market that offer direct 12-V power supplies. If you have one of those you just plug it into the 12-V power outlet.

The problem is that CPAP need to heat and humidify the air being blown into you. That takes a lot of battery. Most trucks unless it's pretty warm will not have enough battery to be able to power a CPAP all night. Some companies provide supplemental batteries for CPAP. An APU works a lot better. If you have sleep apnea searching for companies that are all APU equipped makes sense.. That's what I did.

2) If you need 110-V power for your CPAP even if your company has a no invertor policy you need to make a request for reasonable accomodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act as Amended. (ADAA) Sleep apnea is a disability as defined in the act. You can only have an invertor large enough to power your CPAP (400 watt max) not something large enough to power your microwave and flat screen ....lol.

If your company will not let you install or will not install an invertor for you you need to file a complaint with the EEOC. They have on-line complaint filing.

A company can NOT refuse to hire you because you have sleep apnea if you are under current and effective treatment (CPAP have compliance monitoring... you need a CPAP compliance report and doctor letter in some cases).

If a company refuses to hire you because you have sleep apnea you need to file an EEOC complaint. In fact a company can not even ask you if you have sleep apnea until after they have made you a conditional offer of employment. You do not HAVE to tell your employer you have sleep apnea.

You MUST tell the DOT medical examiner you have sleep apnea. Be ready to have a CPAP compliance report for your DOT physicals.


Collord... sorry to correct you.. but....

Sleep apnea causes excessive daytime sleepiness...in some extreme cases people with untreated sleep apnea fall asleep sitting at a stop light... not just what some would call grogginess....

BMI or your body mass index is one screening tool used to determine who is at high risk for sleep apnea. The other GOOD ways to screen for sleep apnea involve asking questions about how people snore, remember dreams, etc. But... for truck drivers everyone has already learned that drivers will just lie on all the good screening questions. The problem is FMCSA knows BMI your height and weight is something you can't lie about.

FYI - when screened properly using BMI and the GOOD questions 98% of truck drivers screened as high risk for sleep apnea when tested actually had sleep apnea. Sorry... I do sleep apnea screenings at truck shows. I can look at a driver now.. take BMI and a couple of questions... I'm pretty accurate on what the test results show later....

I've got sleep apnea. Getting treated is a life changer. There are a lot of other drivers who post in this forum who also have a CPAP and will probably say the same thing.

Hope this helps.

 

If it gets by the profanity censor here it's o.k.

 

It is possible to get a waiver on the Type 1 Diabetes with insulin injection.....quite a few hoops to jump through, though, from what I understand. I have type 2 and just got my card last week and the diabetes was a non-issue. the PA that examined me told me that she had given waivers before.