The notices of proposed removal were issued to chiropractors Dr. Jenny Le and Dr. Dustin Mai due to a “failure to adequately perform U.S. DOT physical qualification examinations of interstate commercial motor vehicle operators,” according to FMCSA. Specifically, the examinations conducted by these doctors failed to meet the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

“FMCSA’s primary mission is to enhance safety on our nation’s roadways,” stated Jesse Elison, FMCSA’s Chief Counsel. “Removing non-compliant medical examiners from the National Registry is necessary to maintain the integrity of the medical certification process and ensure that only qualified, properly trained professionals are certifying the physical qualifications of commercial motor vehicle drivers.”

Dr. Le (National Registry No. 4762579227) and Dr. Mai (National Registry No. 7120983977), based in Houston, were scrutinized for an unusually high volume of DOT physicals they issued. This raised concerns that triggered an investigation by the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, with support from the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. The investigation uncovered that the two examiners failed to properly apply medical standards when determining whether drivers were fit to operate commercial vehicles.

The decision impacts 15,225 commercial drivers who underwent DOT physical exams by either Dr. Le or Dr. Mai between March 2023 and March 2025. Those affected must obtain new medical certificates from one of the more than 38,000 active certified medical examiners listed in the National Registry. FMCSA has assured that letters will be sent to impacted drivers notifying them of the requirement.

Drivers are urged to take immediate action, as failing to secure a new certificate by May 10 will result in state driver’s license agencies beginning to downgrade the affected CDL holders’ licenses.

Source: Land Line

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According to Bryan Price, the chief of FMCSA’s drug and alcohol programs division, “With this rule beginning in November, we’re going to feed all those CDL numbers down to the DMVs, and the DMVs are required by this new federal rule to downgrade that driver’s license at the state level.”

The Clearinghouse, implemented by Congress on January 6, 2020, focuses on preventing drivers from job-hopping after failing substance tests. It requires employers to check the Clearinghouse database for any drug or alcohol violations before allowing current or potential employees to drive commercial vehicles.

Under the new Clearinghouse II rule, state agencies must record any CDL downgrade on the Commercial Driver’s License Information System driver record within 60 days of notification. This ensures that approximately 177,000 drivers currently in prohibited status cannot legally drive until they complete the return-to-duty process.

Price commented on the importance of this update, stating, “When the state DMV downgrades the license, we think that if the driver’s company has insurance and runs an MVR [motor vehicle record] check and sees this guy’s license is no good, it’s going to go a long way toward helping us get more of these drivers off the road until they do the return-to-duty process.”

To return to duty, drivers must engage a certified substance abuse professional for evaluation, complete prescribed education or treatment programs, pass a return-to-duty test, and undergo follow-up testing.

The Clearinghouse currently registers around 5 million drivers and nearly 500,000 employers. Price noted that Texas leads with 14,000 drivers in prohibited status but has proactively downgraded 7,000 of those CDLs.

FMCSA will carry out annual program reviews to ensure state compliance with these new requirements, with potential funding consequences for non-compliance. Price added, “There are consequences for the states, up to potential funding ramifications if they don’t comply. We haven’t heard from any state so far that said, ‘We’re not doing this.’”

Source: Transport Topics

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