What options do companies have when one of their drivers gets convicted for Driving under the Influence of Alcohol (“DUI”)? In some instances, the company may decide to terminate the employment of an individual who can no longer drive as a result of the DUI. Other times, however, companies may want to keep the individual employed and may help the employee apply for a permit that allows him or her to drive a company vehicle for work purposes only.
License Revocations Pursuant to DUI’s
By law, an individual whose license is revoked pursuant to a DUI conviction cannot drive any vehicle for a period of one year (or longer, for subsequent offenses), unless the vehicle contains an ignition interlock device. Before driving the vehicle, the driver must blow into the ignition interlock device, which then determines whether the individual is impaired by alcohol. If the device determines that the driver cannot drive due to being under the influence of alcohol, the car’s ignition will lock and the engine will be prevented from starting.
Because employers normally don’t install ignition interlock devices on their vehicles, employees whose licenses have been revoked are generally not allowed to drive those company vehicles. In some cases, however, the individual can apply for a permit to drive a company vehicle for employment purposes, even if the vehicle does not have an ignition interlock device.
The Prior Law
Under the prior law, an employee could apply for a permit to drive a company vehicle for work purposes, but such driving was limited to a maximum window of 12 hours a day.
The New Law
Under Act 74, an employee may now be able to drive a company vehicle for more than 12 hours a day if that person’s employer submits a sworn statement to a court and administrative driver’s license revocation office that provides specific hours of work the individual will drive a company vehicle for work purposes. This new law took effect on July 1, 2018.
Obtaining a Permit to Drive Company Vehicles
To obtain such a permit, an employer must submit a sworn statement that provides the following items:
- Statement that the individual will be discharged from employment due to being unable to drive a vehicle that does not have an ignition interlock device;
- Description of the specific vehicle(s) the employee will drive for work purposes; and
- Period of the specified assigned hours of work the employee will drive the vehicle(s) for work purposes.
Finally, in order to drive a company vehicle during the specified hours of work, the permit must be kept in the driver’s possession at all times while operating the vehicle.