advice

[jewook]

oregon:

my husband had a traffic violation in the state of iowa in 1999/2000 which ended in the suspension of his license for a period of time (12-months or so), and a requirement by the state of iowa to carry high risk auto insurance.

he moved to oregon in 2001 and after serving the period of time required, he applied for and was granted an oregon drivers license. he carried sr22 insurance for a period of 3-months.

in september of 2004, he attended swift transportations driving school and obtained his CDL through the swift driving academy in arizona.

he worked for swift transportation from september 2004-february 2005. in march of 2005, he was hired for a local driving position near our home in oregon. he worked for this company from march 2005-june 2005, when he was hired by another company for a more promising and better paying position. he worked for helser brothers from june 2005-november 2007, when he obtained a union position with american steel. hes now been employed by american steel from november 2007-present day.

his license was to be renewed by 11-10-2009. when he went to the dmv to renew his license, he was told that the state of iowa had a hold on his license for a $200 fine from 2002, for not carrying sr22 insurance. according to the state of iowa dmv, his license had been suspended since 2002 for not paying the fine. we were never notified or received any paperwork regarding this matter. had we known, we would have paid it ASAP--especially since my husbands career depends on maintaining a clean driving record.

now, what i dont understand is this: when you apply for and obtain a CDL, the dmv where you apply is supposed to run a background check on your driving record. my husband has been employed by 4 different trucking companies in the last 5-years. each company is supposed to run a driving background check with the dmv when they hire a new driver. my husband has also been pulled over by state police 4-5 times in 2 different states in the last 4-years, and not once did this "hold/suspension" from the state of iowa show up on his record.

of course once we found out about the fee, we paid it ASAP. my husband could not work and was "suspended" until he was able to obtain his CDL back, which took over a week. this resulted in a loss of wages and 8 points accumulated on his work record--10 points is reason for termination, for "unexcused" absences.

i do not know how each state works as far as checking dmv records and background checks. i can only assume that when they do a background check, they check a national database--not just that particular state. i also assume that employers do a complete background/driving history check.

i am in the process of obtaining documentation from my husbands current employer that a background check was done approx. a month before he was due to renew his CDL, and NOTHING came up on his record. i am also in the process of contacting his old employers to get copies of employment verification and documentation that they ran a background check through the dmv.

im not looking to sue anyone or really take this to court, etc. BUT, i would like to make a stink and send the proper complaints to the proper organizations to assure this does not happen again, or to anyone else.

i cannot understand how a man with a supposed "hold/suspension" on his license would be able to obtain and maintain a CDL for approx. 7-years without anyone ever noticing this on his record.

i am looking for any sort of advice, help or information anyone can offer.

thanks!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[sandyclaus]

One simple explanation is that sister states do not always have shared reporting requirements. Whereas Iowa may have reported in their state's DMV system, that same info may not have been available in Oregon's system until much later, if at all (some states don't share DMV info). The info may just not have been available to the employers when they they ran their checks.

But to the issue at hand: if Iowa required that your husband carry high-risk insurance, did they specify how long he would need to carry that insurance? (It's usually for a year or more, depending on the reasons that the requirement is being imposed.)

You said he carried it for "3-months" only. If in 2002, when he got the fine, he was still required to carry the insurance but didn't, then any penalty after the fact is on you guys. You can't hold the states at fault for something you were legally required to do but didn't. Just because you didn't get caught until now doesn't negate the fact that you still failed to meet the requirements when in force.

 

[jewook]

thank you for your response.

honestly, i am unaware of the legnth of the sr22 sentence. i was able to access the iowa state court and found the case i am speaking of. the last judgement entered in the case was back in september, 2001, ruling of "notice to remove suspension." one month after that suspension was removed, my husband obtained his oregon DL, and there was never anything added as far as "failure to carry sr22" or "suspension due to failure to carry sr22" or "suspended for fine," etc.

i am not upset about the fine in this issue. weve paid the fee and the suspension has been removed. my issue is that this has been on his record for over 6-years, nobody has caught it until now and that resulted in the loss of wages for an entire week.

supposedly when you obtain a CDL, the dmv does an extensive background check. you have to provide written explanations of each state you have held a license in & any infractions on your driving record. so, i can only assume that the dmv MUST run a national check. its certainly within their means--especially if they are willing to base ones career choice on it--for safety reasons at the least.

when my husband applied for his CDL in arizona after he attended the swift driving academy, he provided the information that in the past he had held an iowa drivers license & that it had at one time been suspended. so, when they ran the check, the "hold/suspension" and the $200 for failure for carrying sr22 should have come up at that time.

had we known about the fine, it would have been paid immediately and i wouldnt feel like someone was being sneaky...but because weve been through this entire process and NOBODY had caught it until this year, i feel like someone along the lines stumbled across it and slapped it on there and failed to notify us.

all i want to do is bring this to the attention of the proper authorities so that this type of "mistake" does not happen again or to anyone else that relies on their license as a means to support their family.