WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Labor is tightening English language requirements for employers seeking to hire foreign commercial vehicle drivers, requiring companies to clearly include English Language Proficiency standards in labor certification filings.
The new guidance was issued May 14 by the DOL’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification. It clarifies that employers applying to hire foreign workers as commercial vehicle operators must include an English Language Proficiency requirement in all job orders and applications for temporary or permanent labor certification.
Employers Must Include English Proficiency Standard
Under the guidance, employers that fail to include the required English proficiency standard will receive a Notice of Deficiency. Processing of the labor certification application will then be paused until the employer corrects the filing.
The new standard will take effect 30 days after the May 14 publication of the guidance.
Current Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules already prohibit drivers from operating commercial vehicles if they cannot read and speak English well enough to communicate with the public, understand highway traffic signs and signals, respond to official inquiries, and complete reports and records.
DOL said the new guidance is meant to create uniform requirements for employers seeking foreign workers as commercial motor vehicle operators and to support roadway safety.
Guidance Tied to Federal Trucking Orders
The Labor Department said the guidance addresses two issues: improving safety for commercial drivers and the motoring public, and advancing federal executive orders related to enforcing English-language requirements for truck drivers and designating English as the official language of the United States.
The related executive order states that English proficiency should be a safety requirement for professional drivers because truckers must be able to read traffic signs, communicate with law enforcement and checkpoint officers, respond to official inquiries, and receive directions from employers and customers.
The order also directed the U.S. Department of Transportation and FMCSA to revise enforcement guidance and work toward making English Language Proficiency violations an out-of-service issue for commercial drivers.
DOL Says FMCSA Still Handles Driver Testing
Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said enforcing existing English proficiency requirements is critical to roadway safety.
“Holding employers to existing English language proficiency requirements is critical to keeping Americans safe on our roads,” Sonderling said. “At President Trump’s direction, the Department of Labor is doing our part to ensure that foreign workers possess necessary English language skills to safely operate commercial motor vehicles.”
The DOL noted that FMCSA will continue to handle screening and testing for English proficiency.
Brian Kennedy, director of the Office of Foreign Labor Certification’s Office of Immigration Policy, said the Labor Department’s role is to make sure required qualifications are clearly listed in employer filings.
“As part of our responsibility to review job orders and labor certification applications for compliance with federal law, the Department of Labor ensures required qualifications – such as the English language proficiency standard—are clearly stated in employer filings,” Kennedy said. “This helps promote safety for everyone through regulatory compliance while ensuring clarity and consistency for workers, employers, and federal partners.”
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