WASHINGTON - In a far reaching move, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has amended federal safety regulations to make it easier for employers to learn nitty-gritty details about the work history of individuals applying to be drivers.

Under the new rules, former employers will be required to disclose:

* Driver safety history and accident records
* Three-year alcohol and controlled substance history
* Employee rehabilitation treatments
* Any reversion to alcohol or substance abuse after treatment
* Verification of employment

And, most importantly, the former employer must provide the information within 30 days of receiving a request from a prospective employer.

The goal of the new rules is to make it easier for employers to weed out bad-apple job applicants, and increase the hiring of drivers with strong safety records.

"This is big news and long overdue," said Norman Littler, senior vice president for government and industry relations at the United Motorcoach Association.

"While an employer's recordkeeping burden goes up slightly, the cost is small in comparison with the massive improvement provided in risk reduction," said Littler.

A key aspect of the rules is the liability protection it affords employers who supply driver employment history information. Employers cannot be held liable for providing information required under the new rules.

"That is something we fought long and hard for," said Littler.

The FMCSA will investigate complaints about failures to comply with the new rules. A motorcoach operator that fails to comply could be subject to civil penalties.

The rules apply to all commercial vehicle operators that are subject to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

The effective date of the rules change is April 29, but employers are not required to begin complying with the rules until Oct. 29.

On that date, employers must begin requesting detailed information about driver applications from all former employers during the previous three years, and former employers must begin providing the information.

If there's no safety performance information to report for a driver, previous employers are nevertheless required to send a response confirming there is no data. They still must supply driver identification information and dates of employment.

The new rules also require employers to take all reasonable precautions to assure the accuracy of the records they keep and provide to others.

And they must provide specific contact information in case a driver chooses to contact a previous employer regarding correcting or rebutting information supplied to a prospective employer.

Also, employers must keep a record for one year of each request they receive for information about a current or former employee, and the response they provide. The record must include the date the request for information was received, the name of the party to whom the information was released, and a summary of what was provided.

It is estimated that upwards of 18,000 commercial drivers will be denied employment as a result of the new rules.