Does state law let me ask a driver about an arrest?

It depends on the state. California bars an employer from asking an applicant about arrests that did not end in conviction, but its statute lets an employer ask an employee or applicant about an arrest where the person is out on bail or on their own recognizance pending trial. New York protects arrests that are no longer pending, so a pending case is outside that rule. Other states differ, so check yours before you ask.

Does a pending DUI charge keep a driver off MTM trips?

Under MTM's standard agreement, yes when a conviction would disqualify the driver. Section 5.I says a provider may not use a driver who is pending a felony or misdemeanor charge, an arrest, or a drug or alcohol related traffic offense charge that would disqualify on conviction. Section 5.J separately bars any driver whose license is suspended, expired or revoked. Other brokers write their own terms.

How fast do I have to tell a broker about a driver's arrest or charge?

It depends on the contract. MTM's standard agreement asks for immediate notice of any criminal investigation, charge or proceeding involving a driver. TennCare's contract has the driver immediately tell the NEMT provider, and the provider immediately tell the plan, of an arrest, charge or conviction that would disqualify. Texas health plans require written notice within ten business days of a pending felony charge, a conviction, or a registry listing.

What if the driver is in jail and misses shifts?

Cover the trips first, then handle the absence under the attendance policy you apply to any missed shift. Keep the company van, keys, badge and fuel card accounted for, and do not announce the reason to riders, facilities or other staff. When you learn what the charge is, check each broker contract for a notice or removal rule before the driver returns to the schedule.

Can I fire a driver arrested for domestic violence?

The arrest alone is a weak ground. The EEOC says an employer may act on the conduct behind an arrest if it makes the person unfit for the job, and that the conduct, not the arrest, is what matters. Broker terms can decide it faster: MTM bars drivers with prior convictions for a crime of violence, and a pending charge that would disqualify on conviction also keeps a driver off its trips. Read the term in your contract and your state's rules.

Does a dismissed charge clear the driver?

It ends the pending-charge problem, but check three other things. A license suspension that followed a DUI arrest may be separate, though California's statute has the DMV reinstate the license after an acquittal. A broker may need to be told the case ended. And a driver who concealed the arrest on an application raises a different issue, covered in the guide to false applications.

Employee arrested: what a NEMT company should do

An arrest is not a finding that the driver did anything. That distinction drives almost every decision on this page: you may act on conduct that makes a person unfit to carry riders, you must follow the broker and state rules that apply to pending charges, and you should not treat the arrest itself as a verdict. For how long each program’s disqualification lasts after a conviction, see the guide to hiring drivers with a criminal record. For alerts that tell you about an arrest you did not hear about, see fingerprint background checks.

Can you fire or suspend a driver because of an arrest?

You can act on the conduct behind the arrest when that conduct makes the person unfit for the job, and you can follow a program rule that bars drivers with pending charges, but an arrest by itself is thin ground. The EEOC’s 2012 guidance says an exclusion based on an arrest, in itself, is not job related and consistent with business necessity, because the fact of an arrest does not establish that criminal conduct occurred. It also says an employer may make a decision based on the conduct underlying the arrest, and that the conduct, not the arrest, is what counts.

The guidance gives one example of how that looks. A school placed an assistant principal on unpaid administrative leave after he was arrested on charges involving children, investigated, let him explain what happened, and ended his employment based on what the investigation found. The EEOC found no violation, because the decision rested on the described conduct and was tied to the job. For a driver, that means the same order: remove from the work that creates risk, investigate, hear the driver, then decide.

Two cautions on the federal picture:

The guidance is not law. The EEOC’s own disclaimer on the page says its contents do not have the force and effect of law.
It is in flux. On June 9, 2026, the Justice Department announced that its Office of Legal Counsel had concluded the EEOC’s disparate-impact guidelines violate the Constitution, and said employers may use practices such as criminal background checks without Title VII liability merely because outcomes differ among groups, if the practice is reasonable, useful, or serves a valid business purpose.

That announcement does not change state arrest-record laws or the terms of a broker contract, and those usually decide what you can do first.

Which state laws limit acting on an arrest?

Check your state before you act or ask, because some bar the use of arrests outright and others require removal. In 2012 the EEOC counted at least 13 states with statutes limiting arrest-record inquiries. Three examples show the range:

California. Labor Code 432.7 says an employer may not seek or use, as a factor in any condition of employment including termination, a record of an arrest or detention that did not result in conviction. The statute adds that it does not prevent an employer from asking an employee or applicant about an arrest for which the person is out on bail or on their own recognizance pending trial. That sentence covers asking. It does not say you may act on the answer, so write down the safety or contract reason for any removal, not the arrest. Penalties include actual damages or $200, whichever is greater, and treble damages for an intentional violation.
New York. Executive Law 296(16) makes it unlawful to ask about, or act adversely on, arrests or accusations that are not pending and ended in certain ways, including in the person’s favor or in an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. A case still open is outside that rule.
Florida. The opposite approach for drivers screened under chapter 435: the law requires removal until the arrest is resolved, covered in the next section.

When does a program require you to pull the driver off trips?

Some programs decide this for you, so read the contract before you decide anything yourself. Four examples:

MTM. Section 5.I of the standard provider agreement (the January 2023 form) bars a driver who is on work release, probation or parole, or who has a pending felony or misdemeanor charge, an arrest, or a drug or alcohol related traffic offense charge that would disqualify on conviction. Section 5.L counts a guilty plea, a nolo contendere plea and a finding of guilt as a conviction. MTM may also deactivate a driver for safety reasons (5.H).
Florida. Nonemergency transportation drivers in Medicaid must meet level 1 screening under chapter 435 or an equivalent (section 409.907(8)(a)4). Level 1 requires that a person not have an arrest awaiting final disposition for a listed offense (435.03(2)). When an employer learns a screened employee has been arrested for a disqualifying offense, it must remove the person from contact with vulnerable persons, meaning minors and vulnerable adults, until the arrest is resolved (435.06(2)(b)). The statute also says no reemployment assistance liability, other monetary liability or damages claim lies against an employer that ends employment on notice of a conviction or arrest for a disqualifying offense (435.06(4)).
Texas health plans. The NEMT handbook (UMCM 16.4, section 2520) does not bar a pending charge outright, but it requires written notice within ten business days of a pending felony charge, and it makes a driver convicted after hire of a listed offense ineligible for seven years from the conviction date. Its notice rule and its drunk-driving bar both count deferred adjudication.
TennCare. Attachment XI, A.8.3.9, has the driver immediately notify the NEMT provider, and the provider immediately notify the plan, of an arrest for, charge with or conviction of an offense that would disqualify the driver.

What if the arrest is for DUI?

A DUI arrest can suspend the driver’s license before any court date, and a suspended license keeps a driver off MTM’s trips (5.J). The timing differs by state:

Florida. The officer takes the license, issues a 10-day temporary permit, and the suspension runs from the date of the notice: 6 months for a first offense at a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.08 or higher, or 1 year for a first refusal to test. The driver can ask for review within 10 days (322.2615).
California. The DMV suspends the driving privilege for an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. The suspension takes effect 30 days after the notice, lasts four months for a first occurrence with no prior in ten years, and one year with a prior. A hearing request made within 10 days of receiving the notice is heard before the effective date (Vehicle Code 13353.2, 13353.3 and 13558). The suspension is a civil matter independent of guilt, and the DMV reinstates the license after an acquittal (13353.2(e)).

In California the suspension does not take effect until 30 days after the notice, yet the arrest may already trigger MTM’s pending-charge rule. Ask the driver for the notice paper and the effective date, and take the driver off trips on the date your rule or the broker’s rule requires, not the date the suspension starts.

Federal rules for commercial drivers (49 CFR 383.33) require the employee to tell the employer about a license suspension before the end of the business day following the day the notice arrived. For other drivers, put the same rule in your policy. Continuous MVR monitoring catches a suspension the driver does not report, and your insurance agent should hear about it too, as the insurance approval guide advises.

Who has to tell whom?

The driver tells you, and you tell each broker. Contracts depend on that chain: TennCare’s has the driver immediately notify the provider, and MTM’s puts the duty to notify on the provider. A company can only meet a notice clock it knows about, so write the driver’s duty into your handbook: report any arrest, charge, or license action before the next shift.

Two other routes catch what a driver does not report. Fingerprint programs with arrest alerts, covered in the fingerprint guide, can notify you of a new arrest. A broker, a court or the driver’s family may also contact you, so name one person to take those calls.

Do you pay a driver who is off the road?

That is a policy you set in advance, because a decision made in the middle of a case is hard to apply evenly. Three options exist: unpaid leave pending the outcome, paid leave, or reassignment to work that does not carry riders. The EEOC’s example involved unpaid administrative leave. Florida’s chapter 435 describes removal from contact with vulnerable persons rather than dismissal. Whichever you pick, give every driver in the same position the same treatment, and put the terms in writing at the time of removal. The guide to suspending a driver pending investigation covers pay, length and closing out the file.

What do you do when the case ends?

Get the final disposition from the court, then act on the result under your written policy and each broker’s rules. The EEOC’s guidance cites a 2006 Justice Department study that found only half of the arrest records in the FBI’s database were linked to a final disposition, so a database that says “arrested” may be out of date.

Dismissed, not prosecuted, or acquitted. The pending-charge bar ends. Tell any broker you notified and put the driver back on the schedule if no other rule stands in the way. Do not carry the arrest into later decisions.
Conviction or plea. Apply each program’s rule. MTM counts pleas and findings of guilt (5.L), and Texas counts deferred adjudication. Decide under your policy using the EEOC’s three factors: the nature of the offense, the time since it, and the nature of the job.
Send the conviction notice each contract requires. MTM, for example, asks for immediate notice of the convictions its agreement lists, which include crimes against a person and alcohol related driving offenses.
Use the screening notices if a report prompted the decision. The pre-adverse action notice entry covers the steps.
Record it. Keep the disposition, the date, the rule you applied and who decided.

If you learn the driver hid an earlier arrest or conviction on the application, the steps differ, and the guide to a driver who lied on the job application covers them.

When a driver comes off the road on short notice

When a driver is pulled from trips with a shift to cover, dispatch can drag each of that driver’s upcoming trips to another driver on the HealthRide dispatch board, and Ryder Go plans the whole day in one click. Hours the driver worked before the removal stay on timecards in reports.

A driver was arrested: what a NEMT company does before the case is decided