Does Werner hire people with felonies?

What Werner has said

Werner hasn't published a policy on hiring people with criminal records that we could find, and it isn't on the Second Chance Business Coalition member list. Its position description for over-the-road truckload drivers lists meeting DOT standards, passing required drug and alcohol tests including hair follicle testing, and acceptable background investigation results among the minimum qualifications. Several Werner Final Mile warehouse, delivery and manager postings say an offer depends on passing a background screening, drug test and physical.

We didn't find a public statement from Werner about hiring people with records: not on its careers site, in its reports, or in its announcements. That doesn't mean it won't hire you. It means there's nothing on the record to point to.

Does Werner do background checks?

Werner runs background checks for some roles. Werner's OTR truckload driver position description (dated August 20, 2025) lists acceptable background investigation results as a minimum qualification, and a Werner driver recruiter posting says recruiters ask prospective drivers about their driving record, experience and criminal background before making pre-approval decisions. Werner's Final Mile postings say a job offer depends on a background screening. Werner doesn't publish what the check covers, how far back it looks or which records disqualify.^1,2,3

• Criminal history
• Driving record

• How long a background check takes

Does Werner drug test?

Werner drug tests for some roles. Werner's OTR truckload driver position description requires meeting DOT standards and passing required drug and alcohol tests, including hair follicle testing, and its driver job postings say applicants must pass a DOT physical that includes substance screening. Several Werner Final Mile postings say an offer depends on a drug test. Werner's freight safety page lists dual-layer drug screening among its safety measures without describing it further. The office and shop postings we opened don't mention drug tests.^1,3,4,5,6

Hiring programs

• Roadmaster Drivers School

  Werner says it owns Roadmaster Drivers School, a CDL training school with 23 locations, in-house financing and job placement help, and that it also works with partner CDL schools. Werner's page doesn't describe Roadmaster's admission screening, and it isn't described as a second-chance program.⁷

Rules for specific jobs

• OTR truckload drivers

  Werner's position description lists a valid CDL, 90 days of tractor-trailer experience (unless hired as a placement driver), passing required drug and alcohol tests including hair follicle testing, and acceptable background investigation results as minimum qualifications.¹

• Company truck drivers

  Werner's driver postings list being at least 21, a safe driving record, a good work history, verifiable driving experience and a DOT physical that includes substance screening.⁴

• Werner team drivers (some fleets)

  At least one Werner team-driving posting (Pharmaceuticals & TCU - Teams) requires drivers to be at least 22 and to have 1 year of verifiable driving experience.⁸

• Final Mile offloaders, delivery assistants and managers

  Several of Werner's Final Mile postings say applicants must complete pre-employment testing, a background screening, a drug screen and a physical exam before the offer is final.⁹

• People planning to earn a CDL

  Werner's CDL training page says, as general guidance rather than its own hiring rule, that schools review an applicant's driving record and that serious violations such as DUI/DWI, leaving the scene of an accident or using a commercial vehicle to commit a crime may keep someone from getting a CDL or a commercial driving job.⁷

• CDL truck drivers (federal rule)

  FMCSA says all CDL drivers who operate commercial motor vehicles on public roads are subject to DOT drug and alcohol testing, including pre-employment, random, post-accident and reasonable-suspicion tests, and an employer must receive a negative drug test before the driver operates a commercial vehicle.⁶

• CDL truck drivers (federal rule)

  Federal rules require every motor carrier, within 30 days of a driver's start date, to get the driver's motor vehicle record for the past 3 years from each state that licensed them and to check their safety performance history with DOT-regulated employers over the past 3 years.¹⁰

• CDL truck drivers (federal rule)

  FMCSA's Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse says a driver must consent before an employer can view their Clearinghouse record, and a driver with a drug or alcohol program violation can't drive a commercial vehicle for any DOT-regulated employer until they finish the return-to-duty process.¹¹

Your rights, and how far back a check can go

• Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), an employer must get your written permission before it gets a background report about you from a background screening company.^14,15,16
• Before an employer decides not to hire, keep, or promote you because of something in a background report, it must give you a copy of the report and a document called "A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act."^14,15
• You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in your background report directly with the company that made it.^14,17
• The FCRA's seven-year limit does not apply to criminal convictions, so under federal law a conviction can show up on a background report no matter how old it is.^18,19
• Under the FCRA, background and credit reports generally cannot include arrest records, civil lawsuits, or civil judgments that are more than seven years old (or older than the statute of limitations, if that is longer).^18,20

Your full background check rights

Before you apply

• You can ask a background screening company for the information it has on you, and the CFPB keeps a list of consumer reporting companies, including employment screening companies, with their contact details.^14,17,21
• According to the Clean Slate Initiative, 14 states and Washington, D.C. have passed Clean Slate laws that meet its criteria for automatically clearing eligible records: Pennsylvania, Utah, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware, Virginia, California, Oklahoma, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Illinois, and Missouri, plus D.C.²²
• The Federal Bonding Program, run by the U.S. Department of Labor, lets states give employers free fidelity bonds that protect them against losses from a newly hired worker's dishonest acts, for job seekers with past justice involvement or in recovery from substance use.^23,24

See whether you can clear your record in your state