In the aftermath of DOT's emergency rulemaking looking to remove almost 200,000 non-domiciled CDL drivers from truck and bus industries, a law firm has issued a legal alert warning of grave financial risks.
DOT's new rule, titled "Restoring Integrity to the Issuance of Non-Domiciled Commercial Drivers Licenses," called out instances of state licensing agencies granting non-domiciled CDLs to those in the country illegally, sometimes for terms years after their legal length of stay in the country expired.
In a series of fiery press conferences and releases, DOT Secretary Sean Duffy has called attention to "egregious" and "catastrophic" safety lapses in regs enforcement and licensing.
Now, Gregory Reed, a partner at Hanson Bridgett, a law firm with experience representing trucking and transportation clients, warns the rule will "have an near-immediate, significant impact on the trucking and logistics industry."
That impact isn't limited to just the nearly 200,000 non-domiciled CDL holders (or five percent of all current interstate CDL holders, Reed estimated) but the entire regulatory footing of CDL credentialing. The regulation "casts doubt on the legitimacy of the entire licensing system, increasing risk to those companies that work with such drivers," Reed wrote on the firm's website.
DOT's rule limits non-domiciled CDL issuance to foreign visitors who hold specific types of visas, increases the documentation required, requires in-person annual renewals, and requires more state-federal collaboration on non-citizen driver licensing. DOT's goal, it said, is to get 194,000 non-domiciled CDL holders, out of 200,000 total, out of industry over time. Already, DOT has notified states of some CDLs that need out-and-out revoking.
According to Reed, "By casting doubt on the legitimacy of all current non-domiciled CDLs, the emergency regulation has exposed trucking and logistics companies to an increased risk of liability."
