This month CalVans would like to ask for feedback from those that have recently complied with the changes we previously announced regarding the collaboration with the Federal Department of Labor.
Effective August 8, 2016, Farm Labor Contractor (FLC) and Farm labor Contractor Employee’s (FLCE) are now able to become Transportation Authorized to drive a CalVans vanpool. This includes FLCs and FLCE’s paid by their employers to transport workers. This is a big change from previous years. Those with an FLC or FLCE registration card can amend their current cards for use of a CalVans vehicle with the Federal Department of Labor (DOL) to drive a CalVans vehicle. CalVans will monitor driving records, pay for a Class B physical and provide insurance, vehicle maintenance and fuel.
Recently, CalVans staff interviewed Christina Shallanberger. Christina and her commitment to excellence stood out from the hundreds of other vanpools currently is use. Christina has been a pleasure to work with and is an excellent example of how simple the process between the DOL and CalVans can be, to help an employer comply with the current regulation. Christina was involved every step of the way during her DOL application process and was very well prepared. We would love to share who her employer is, but out of respect for their privacy, we will not divulge the company’s identity
For the 2017 season, this employer, prepared and applied for their local vanpool program Ride-On, as they had done previously. They saw no problem using this program as they had used this farmworker vanpool program in the past. When they submitted their H-2A petitions, they were denied by the California Employment Development Department’s Workforce Services Division, citing “that CalVans was the only approved rideshare vanpool program” in the nation. The employer immediately reached out to CalVans and was referred to a Transit Coordinator. Staff provided her with all of the information she would need to get started, including links to all of the forms on the website and links to where she could get the paperwork to get drivers certified. This employer successfully registered all of her drivers and several back-up drivers in less than 4 days! “Georgina explained the agreement with the Department of Labor, explained that all applications coming from CalVans would be processed within weeks, not months. It was so fast, really, really fast.”
The same process applies now and is still very simple. Both agencies continuously strive to provide interested parties the tools to make this process as seamless as possible. Below we will describe the steps to help get your employees into compliance, if you have not already done so. Unfortunately, if you as an employer have not already successfully processed or an amended FLC card for yourself and received a valid FLCE certification for your employees, specifically naming you as their employer on their registration card or if you as an FLC are not using the CalVans Transit Voucher for your employees, CalVans staff will stop further use of the vehicle. Please review the steps below and call CalVans staff for questions and support.
At present the following six items must be submitted with original signatures to the San Francisco address:
A) Completed WH-530 application (Part I & Part III ONLY): https://www.dol.gov/whd/forms/wh530.pdf
B) Fingerprint card: https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/standard-fingerprint-form-fd-258-1.pdf/view
C) CalVans Driver Agreement – signed in blue ink by CalVans Executive Director
D) CalVans Employer Acknowledgement From – completed by employer & signed by driver
E) Clear copy of the signed Class B Medical Examiners Certificate – replaces WH-515.
F) Clear copy of the applicant’s driver’s license.
We will go into detail about what happens BEFORE an employer can apply for their employees.
1. CalVans receives a copy for the potential drivers’ license to be cleared by CalVans admin staff and the driver’s contact information.
2. CalVans will accept:
a. Driver’s over age 25, with 2 or less DMV points
b. No DUI, hit and run or reckless driving convictions in the past 5 years
c. Ability to pass a Class B Physical
3. If a driver passes the DMV clearance, they are referred to a local clinic to take a Class B exam.
4. If the driver passes the exam, the employer is now ready to initiate the application process with the DOL.
Please do not send applications to DOL until you have obtained the paperwork from your local CalVans office. These forms can only be obtained from a Transit Coordinator after a driver has been thru ORIENTATION.
The employer can send documents A-F, noted above, to the San Francisco office, page 6 of the WH-530. If approved, the San Francisco office will return a scanned copy of the Driver Agreement and Employer Acknowledgement along with a copy of the drivers FLCE registration card back to CalVans. Only then may the driver pick up their van. Response times may vary, but DOL staff is committed to a prompt turnaround.
Christina goes on to explain, that after getting everyone approved and her employees had vehicle’s issued, she created a template with all of the riders and driver names.
In order for Christina to make the weekly payment process efficient, she prints this form and a Transit Voucher weekly to provide to her employees for tracking trips. This employer customizes the CalVans Passenger Forms, complete with dates and locations and forwards completed forms to CalVans accounting staff.
Christina shared this with us towards the end of our visit, “This program is so helpful to us. Not only is it helpful for us as a farm labor contractor, to be able to supply labor, but it’s saving our growers money. We have a couple FLC vans out there and they’re expensive and with the volume that CalVans is able to provide, it keeps the rate lower. It saves us money. It saves our growers money. It’s a win win for everybody!” We definitely agree with this statement. With safe roads and safe vehicles everyone wins