Legal Focus

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) maintains strigent requirements for drug and alcohol testing in addition employers should have effective written policies about testing and dealing with positive tests when they occur. Test accuracy, prescription medications, and other factors often arise as issues that must be considered and reconciled. This article will review a school bus contracto's responsibilities related to FMCSA Random Drug & Alcohol tests, as well as review h...

In September 2017, Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) introduced H.R.3703, the No School Bus Drivers with DUIs Act, aimed at prohibiting state and local education agencies from hiring school bus drivers who have been previously convicted of a DUI. This bill stems from recent national news stories reporting on isolated incidents of poor background check protocols. The NSTA and related trade associations responded earlier this year to news reports circulated by CBS News alleging poor search practices, and ref...

According to the General Duties Clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), 29 U.S.C. § 654, each employer must furnish employees a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause serious physical harm to employees. In the school bus industry that usually means protection from school bus violence. In January, 2017, OSHA fined a Pennsylvania psychiatric hospital $32,000 for exposing its employees to workplace violence caused by patients. Similarly, a Massach...

In 2014 New York legalized medical marijuana with passage of the Compassionate Care Act (CCA). This NY state law allows doctors to prescribe marijuana in a non-smokable form to patients with serious ailments that are recognized by the state on a predefined list of conditions. New York is one of twenty-nine states in the U.S. to have legalized marijuana. But, all of the state laws legalizing marijuana are in conflict with current federal law. This article discusses the conflict of the New York la...

Social media has become an integral part of daily life for most individuals. As a result, it is seemingly impossible to go through the day without utilizing it for any given purpose. From employees to employers, social media affects everyone. This article discusses the use of social media as it relates to school transportation contractors.

In May 2016, the Department of Labor published its final rule, more than doubling the threshold for overtime pay. In December 2016, a federal court in Texas issued a nationwide injunction preventing enforcement.

The 2017 legal environment was active for school bus contractors in Pennsylvania but the two cases discussed in this article are notable because they demonstrate the wide range of results that can occur when courts review termination of employment due to a driver’s positive drug test. Contact our office to obtain a copy of the full article discussing the cases, as well as considerations for school bus contractors.