No Employment History on Your DAC Report. Good or Bad?

Sometimes you worry about the wrong thing. I've recently spoke with several drivers worried after they saw their DAC Report. But they weren't worries because the DAC Report contained inaccurate or negative information.  The DAC reports did not contain any previous employment-even though the drivers had worked for multiple companies.  The drivers were looking for another job and getting ready to submit employment applications-but did not remember all their employers or, the exact dates of service and wanted to be sure the employment applications they submitted were accurate and in agreement with what any company that used DAC Reports would receive. 

If you are looking for a job, or just thinking about looking for a job, getting your DAC Report (along with your MVR, CSA PSP report and other information) is a good idea. Many of the larger companies do use DAC Reports and an employer that appears on the DAC Report but not your application, or a period of employment with differing dates can delay or hurt your chances for the job you want.  But thousands of trucking companies do not use DAC-so if you are employed by one of these companies, that employment will not show on your DAC.

Is it a problem, or should you be worried if you have employment that does not show on your DAC Report?  Not really. On the one hand, it can be considered bad news because you cannot see what is being reported on you and make sure your dates of employment are correct. On the other hand, a potential employer will perform the due diligence employment verification by using the information you provide on your employment application and contacting the past employers directly. (Potential employers of commercial drivers must ask for 10 years of employment history and they must verify all driving employment within that time. In addition, they must verify all employment of the past three years regardless of whether or not it was a driving job.)

Keep in mind that no employer information will be on your DAC Report if it is older than 10 years.  In fact, only the past 7 years of employment information on a DAC Report may contain "good/bad" information-for example, it cannot include accident/reason for leaving/eligibility for rehire information.  Certain other information, such as DOT Drug and Alcohol testing information will fall off the DAC Report after 3 years.

Another reason a period of employment will not show on a DAC Report is if you are still employed by the company. Let's say you have been working for a company for 5 years, are still employed, but are thinking about switching jobs. If you obtain your DAC report, the past 5 years of employment with this company will not yet appear on your DAC Report. Only when you terminate employment will that information be reported (assuming the employer uses DAC).

Employment that does not appear on your DAC Report just means that potential employers must verify employment using other means. And it does not mean that there is no way to find out what past employers are reporting.