Advice on getting first trucking job with felony?

I have come across so many people both male and female that are drivers with criminal histories. Most of them are 10+ years since the crime. People think that the overall percentage of the US population that are felons is small. Trust me! It's not! I have heard that figure is close to 20%. Considering the US population is getting close to 300 million if that 20% figure is right that means there are close to 60 million adult Americans that have criminal histories of some kind. While I am not making excuses it is a lot more easy to get a charge these days than the average person thinks. I know of a situation where a man spent close to 4 years in prison because he stupidly borrowed his brother's car that had several illegally modified weapons plus some drugs in the trunk. The brother was spaced out on some drugs and the guy just wanted to go get some things for his mom.

If you are a felon you are never going to be able to be bonded. You will never be allowed to work in law enforcement. You can never be an Attorney. As I understand the FAA regulations you can never hold an ATP Rating. If you are a SO on a state SO registry you will have some further lifetime restrictions on where you can go and live. However, I know 2 people both women that have felony records and are Teachers. I know two men that were convicted of murder but are still active drivers. I know many people that make hiring decisions all across the US. Most of them will hire a felon with the exception of a convicted SO! In all honesty, I don't know of any SOs that are OTR drivers, but I am sure there are some.

Here's the thing. This applies to other issues as well. Take a long look at that application. While you need to be 100% honest, don't add information not asked for. Not long ago I was looking through some applications and saw they were asking for felony convictions within a time frame. If it has been 10 years since your conviction and the application asks for felony convictions within the last 5 or 7 years answer that question NO!

At the end of the day, a person with a felony conviction will be able to do maybe 75% of all driving jobs. Don't sweat it! Just take care and don't get into trouble again!

 

Your schedule will be how a particular company operates. When you choose which employer to work for, you just decided what schedule you will work by. That's why you must talk to the current drivers, at that company, doing the work you are applying for. Companies have different definitions of OTR work. One company I applied for said if you weren't routinely going to more than 7 states they would classify you as regional driver. Another company may have a different definition.

In the PAST, not today, you had to get a year or three of OTR experience before the regional and home-daily companies would accept your application. That is no longer true. Each company can have their own requirements, but it is possible to start with a home-daily job with no experience. In the last 2 years the freight volumes have fallen some and some some companies are hardly hiring at all. The best companies will always have more requirements for heir jobs because they get a thousand applications for every opening and they can be choosy.

You need what matches you and your personality and needs.

 

I recently saw a job listing for yellow and it said “people with criminal records encouraged to apply”. You have to have a HME though and you might not be able to get it depending on your crime.

 

Trucking is slowing. I think the instate requirement might be an issue.


Think manual labor trucking requirements. Food service would be an idea.

 

The disqualifying felonies that keep one from getting hazmat are pretty uncommon. You CAN burgle homes, rob banks, sell drugs, car jack, forge checks, etc. etc., and still get a HM endorsement. The more commonly committed felonies only prevent HM issuance for 7 years from conviction. These are things like murder, smuggling, extortion, immigration violations, kidnapping, arson, etc.

Disqualifying Offenses and Other Factors | Transportation Security Administration

 

There is an interesting part of those offenses that are permanent. This can be found in 18 U.S.C. 2332b(g). In this code section, you see the term Acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries. It is interesting because you can be denied a HM or TWIC EVEN if that act happened in another country. I know of a guy that got into trouble in Germany about 10 years or so ago while visiting. Served a prison sentence and then was deported back to the US. His information is on INTERPOL and they will NOT allow him to get HM or a TWIC. I know this is off topic, just thought it was interesting.

 

@wes86 --

You might give some (or even all) of these a try (nothing ventured, nothing gained):

Robertson's -- no experience needed -- will train -- Ontario, CA

and

Carrera Transport -- trainees accepted -- reefer duty -- Los Angeles, CA

and

JBS Carriers -- mentoring/training pgms for new CDL holders -- Los Angeles, CA

and

Western Express -- 2nd chance company -- hires/trains new CDL holders -- flatbed or dry van duty -- Palmdale, CA

Keep us posted on your progess....

-- Lual