According to a press release from OOIDA, 6 OOIDA members have filed a class-action lawsuit against the FMCSA under the Federal Privacy Act, claiming that the FMCSA is “unlawfully disseminating reports of driver safety records to potential employers.”
The suit was filed at the federal court in Boston, Massachusetts. According to the complaint, the FMCSA is only allowed to report “serious driver-related violations” under its Pre-Employment Screening Program. However, the suit alleges, the FMCSA is releasing driver reports that go “far beyond its statutory authority.”
“The plaintiff truck drivers allege that FMCSA is acting willfully to disparage the safety records of individual drivers and each seeks statutory damages of $1,000. The six plaintiffs will also ask the federal court in Boston to certify a class and award statutory damages to all drivers for whom such reports have been prepared,” the OOIDA press release states.
“FMCSA’s actions in implementing the PSP program demonstrate their deliberate ineptness and disregard for clear statutory limitations,” Jim Johnston, President of OOIDA, said.
The lawsuit goes on to state that the FMCSA ‘s reports harm job prospects and earning potential.
OOIDA is asking other truck drivers who feel they’ve been harmed by the FMCSA’s PSP program to contact OOIDA at [email protected].
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the only national trade association exclusively representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, Mo. area. The Association currently has more than 151,000 members from all 50 states and Canada.