49 U.S.C. § 20135 — Licensing or certification of locomotive operators

(a) General. The Secretary of Transportation must write rules and issue orders creating a licensing or certification program for locomotive operators. The program starts one year after it is set up. (b) Program Requirements. The program must: (1) work through reviewing and approving each railroad's own standards for qualifying operators; (2) set minimum training rules; (3) require operators to know the railroad's operating practices and rules well; (4) require the Secretary to look at each applicant's motor vehicle driving record, if that information is available — except where subsection (c)(1) applies. This includes: (A) any state denial, cancellation, revocation, or suspension of a driver's license for cause in the past 5 years; and (B) any conviction in the past 5 years for an offense described in section 30304(a)(3)(A) or (B); (5) may let the Secretary disqualify an applicant, or grant a license with conditions, based on that driving record; and (6) require an applicant to: (A) ask the top driver-licensing official in each state where they held a license in the past 5 years to send their driving record to their employer, prospective employer, or the Secretary; and (B) make the same kind of request under section 30305(b)(4) for that information to be sent. (c) Waivers. (1) The Secretary must set standards and procedures for waiving the driving-record requirement in (b)(4) for people the Secretary decides are not currently unfit to run a locomotive. But if someone has a conviction, cancellation, revocation, or suspension listed in paragraph (2)(A) or (B) below, the Secretary can only waive it after that person finishes a rehabilitation program approved by the Secretary or run by a railroad. (2) Once someone finishes that rehabilitation program, they cannot be denied a license under (b)(4) just because of: (A) a conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs; or (B) losing their driver's license for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. (d) Opportunity for Hearing. Anyone denied a license, or given a license with conditions under (b)(4), can get a hearing under section 20103(e) to challenge that decision. (e) Opportunity to Examine and Comment on Information. The Secretary, the employer, or the prospective employer must show the applicant the driving-record information gathered under (b)(6). The applicant can write comments about it, and those comments must be kept with the record.