JOHN SIMMS
HNI Vice President

As I was flying home last week from the TCA Conference in Las Vegas, I could not help think about Eddie Murphy and the movie Beverly Hills Cop II.  Maybe it was that I had way too much time on my hands waiting for my connection in Phoenix (nobody flies direct anymore, but that is another story).  Or maybe it was because I had sat through seminar after seminar hearing about how our Washington bureaucrats have stepped up enforcement activities in the trucking industry. 

I haven't heard so many “Capitol” Letters being kicked around the room since Big Bird & the Cookie Monster ran amuck in my house when my boys were very young.

Let’s begin with the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) and their enforcement of the FMCSR (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations).  They have a new mission which is outlined in MAP -21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century) which mandates ELD (Electronic Logging Devices) for any driver regulated by the HOS (Hours of Service) regulations. 

Currently, the FMCSA is preparing a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) that would establish the rules going forward.  This rulemaking supplements the Agency´s 2011 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and addresses issues raised by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Court in its 2011 decision vacating the Agency´s 2010 final rule concerning ELDs.  MAP-21 also modified and reaffirmed a previous rulemaking creating the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (NRCME).  (47 Capitol Letters...and counting.)

Next up is a recent EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) guidance and the Adverse Action Protocol (AAP).  If you rely on a consumer report for an adverse action – denying a job application, reassigning or terminating an existing employee, or denying a promotion - you must give the individual a Pre-Adverse Action (PRAA) disclosure that includes a copy of a “Summary of your Rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).  The Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) that furnishes the individual report also will include the summary of consumer rights.   Once your decision is final, then a Post Adverse Action (PAA) letter is sent with a copy of all of the reports you used to make your decision.  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates the consumer agencies that provide the reports.  (71 Capitol Letters)

I could go on, but hopefully you understand the road we are on.  Regulators are not going to let up, and continue to create uncertainty and confusion with the trucking industry. 

Big Bird would be proud of all of the Capitol Letters used, but still could not solve the Alphabet Crimes currently facing our industry.  I wonder what Axel Foley is doing these days?