In accordance with Article 15, Sections 2 and 4 of the National Agreement, the American Postal Workers Union is initiating a Step 4 dispute regarding the Postal Service’s imposition of work requirements related to, but not mandated by, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, on Motor Vehicle Service employees in Puerto Rico.
The Postal Service has required MVS drivers in Puerto Rico to participate in and sign consent forms for the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse as a term and condition of their continued employment. However, the FMCSA only imposes its Clearinghouse requirements on CDL holders operating within a covered “State.” See 49 C.F.R. § 382.103(a) (applying to “persons who operate a commercial motor vehicle in commerce in any State”). Puerto Rico is not a “State” under FMCSA regulations, 49 C.F.R. § 383.5 (defining “State” as “a State of the United States and the District of Columbia.”), and drivers in Puerto Rico operate under Heavy Motor Vehicle licenses issued under Puerto Rico’s laws rather than CDLs. See P.R. Laws, tit. 9, § 5053. The DOT therefore does not require drivers in Puerto Rico to participate in the Clearinghouse, nor does Puerto Rico impose this requirement. See FMCSA: Drug & Alcohol Clearing House, available at https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov/FAQ/Topics/Queries-Consent-Requests (addressing whether “motor carrier employers operating in Puerto Rico required to query/report to the Clearinghouse”); P.R. Regs. NTSP Reg. 9358, Sec. 22.21(d) (indicating that the Clearinghouse regulations do not apply).
The Postal Service has taken the position since 1995 that it will “follow,” “mirror,” or “parallel” the DOT regulations for CDLs. In recent years, the Postal Service has repeatedly reaffirmed this commitment, including in 2019 and 2020 Step 4 settlement agreements in Case No. Q15V-4Q-C 18046276/HQTV20170529 and Case No. Q18V-4C-C 20375622/HQTV 20200376.
The interpretive issue to be decided is whether the Postal Service’s requirement that non-CDL Motor Vehicle drivers in Puerto Rico participate in and sign consent forms for the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse deviates from DOT and FMCSA regulations and therefore violates the National Agreement and the 2019 and 2020 Step 4 settlement agreements above by failing to “parallel” the DOT and FMCSA regulations.
The APWU believes that non-CDL MVS drivers are not subject to the Clearinghouse regulations, and that the Postal Service is placing unnecessary requirements on the MVS drivers in Puerto Rico to which other non-CDL employees of the Postal Service with driving duties are not required to adhere. The APWU demands that the Postal Service end its practice of imposing Clearinghouse requirements on non-CDL Motor Vehicle employees in Puerto Rico.
Please contact Michael Foster, case officer, at (202) 842-2240 to discuss this dispute at a mutually scheduled time.
In Solidarity, Michael O. Foster, Director Motor Vehicle Service Division
Document Type: APWU Position Letter
APWU National Grievance Number: HQTV20230514
GATS Number: 6X 21V-6X-C 24023551
Craft: Motor Vehicle Service