An Absolute Honest To Goodness Question

Both are looking for driver fitness and accountability.

They want to see that you were and are able-bodied, have no workman's comp issues, no mental issues, no moral issues, no attendance issues, and that you're otherwise reliable. A solid 10 year work history indicates you can commit and comply.

Not having a 10 year work history is not a judgement. You simply are considered ineligible to drive if your background can not be verified.

Hope that helps.

 

Identify several companies that have yard hostlers and speak with them about getting that job. Find out their rules of employment history.

Then to get hired, ask what it would take to hire you for ANY position under your current circumstances.

If you find one that is promising take a job for ANY position, ANY position, ANY position.

After you're hired go back to them and start prepping.....

Ask them, how do I go about getting trained to move into that yard hostler job?

If they say they hire 'entry level' ask them if going to a CDL school would qualify you.

If they say yes ask them if they will pay for CDL school.

My guess is some will train you without requiring CDL school by preparing you to get CDL A permit at a local DMV.

You should have two clear goals, to obtain a 10 year work history and to do it while driving a vehicle.

 

Actually the Federal side of it is accountability, if they can prove they verified you were where you said you were and doing what you said were doing, then they are good with the feds. Their insurance will accept or decline you before you ever get to the trainer. If you make to the trainer it's all on you and your ability. Very few companies good or bad are brave enough to put anybody in a truck these days without insurance.

 

there's no law requiring you to have a ten year work history. An 18 year old can have a cdl and drive. For a ten year history that 18 year old would have to have been working at age 8. The 10 year thing is just for background purposes. If a person hasn't worked in ten years, that would not render them ineligible. I would suggest calling a company you aspire to work for, explain in detail WHY you didn't work for ten years or whatever. The worst that can happen is they tell you no.. Many large companies are self insured, so its not an issue. Hope the hypothetical person in question finds what they are seeking

 

I'm still trying to figure out what workman's-comp has to do with it...If you were ever injured on the job ...does that disqualify you from getting another job...in trucking or not. I can't make that connection.

 

Any company, and their insurance company, will want to know what you've been doing for those years. So, just tell them.

 

It's true that some companies will be reluctant to insure someone with a history of multiple workers comp claims. But an injury won't prevent you from being hired. You will probably have to provide a clean, current physical.

 

For lapses in employment many companies will accept sworn statements from family members that detail reasons for no verifiable employment.

 

as far as the government is concerned, the company that hires the employee only has to attempt to verify work history and then document that attempt. It states this clearly in the FMCSA book. If you say you didn't work, there's no employment to verify, so I don't know if you'd have to verify that you did nothing. Even then, they only have to attempt to verify, and document the attempt. Whether or not they hire you is up to them.

I don't know anything about the insurance side of it.