Does Swift Hire Felons?

While many trucking companies are happy to hire felons, every trucking company has its own hiring policy. Some will consider applicants with felonies on a case-by-case basis, while others have blanket policies in place that require 5, 7, or 10 years to have passed since the felony conviction.

Swift Transportation is one of the mega carriers, with over 16,000 trucks operating nationwide. Truckers joke that the company has such a high need for drivers that they’ll hire anyone with a pulse – but does Swift hire felons?

In this article, we’ll go over Swift’s hiring policy and tell you about their felony time limits and some of their other requirements.

Does Swift Hire Felons in 2024?

Swift transportation does hire felons, but they have a long waiting period before you can apply.

Does Swift hire felons at 5 or 7 years post-conviction? No. To be considered for a driving job with Swift, your felony conviction needs to be at least 10 years old.

So work forward 10 years from your sentencing date to figure out when you can apply.

You should also know that Swift takes the nature of your felony into account, and there are some types of a felony that will pose more of a problem than others.

If your felony was for theft, or a crime involving violence, Swift may decide to turn you down, but it’s always worth applying because 10 years is a long time, and they know that people can change a lot in those years.

It’s important to be honest when you apply to Swift Transportation, or any trucking company for that matter because they all carry out background checks and will discover any offenses on your record.

What Are The Eligibility Requirements At Swift Transportation?

To apply for a truck driving job with Swift, you’ll need to be at least 21 years old and hold a commercial driver’s license (CDL). Their other requirements are:

• Be in good health and be able to pass the Department of Transportation physical.
• Be able to pass a drug test.
• Have no more than 2 moving violations and no more than 1 preventable accident in the last 2 years on your driving record.
• Have no major accidents on your driving record in the last 5 years.
• Have no DUI on your record during the last 10 years.

What Type Of Drug Test Does Swift Transportation Do?

Swift states on their website that you need to be able to pass a urine and hair analysis drug test.

While a urine test is the approved Department of Transportation (DOT) drug testing method, Swift Transportation is a member of The Trucking Alliance, and Trucking Alliance members use hair testing in addition to the minimum required by the DOT.

The DOT urine test looks for the following drugs:

• Opioids
• Marijuana
• Cocaine
• Amphetamine and methamphetamine
• Phencyclidine (PCP)

Hair follicle drug tests usually look for the same substances, but the tests can look for other drugs as well. We were unable to find out if Swift tests hair samples for extra substances.

Analysis of hair samples can detect drug use going back 3 months. With a urine test, drug users can abstain from drugs for a few weeks to be certain they’ll pass, but abstention periods need to be much longer when hair tests are used.

As a truck driver, you will have to take regular drug tests over the course of your employment, and positive results stay on your driving record, which is available to future employers.

Read more on Swift Transportation Drug Testing.

How Far Back Does Swift’s Background Check Go?

Background checks go back for 7 years on most things, but felonies don’t have a time limit.

Because background checks are a consumer report, they’re regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This federal legislation limits the majority of information employers can gather about you to the last 7 years. But the act doesn’t cover felony convictions.

This means that your felony can be included on your background report even if it happened 10, 20, or 30 years ago.

That’s why it’s so important to be honest when you apply for a job with Swift Transportation. Trying to hide a felony won’t work in most cases because the background check will find it. And even if Swift is willing to hire you with a felony, they won’t want to hire you if you’ve lied to them.

Some states have introduced laws that place limits on background check felony reporting. The following states limit felony reporting to 7 years:

• California
• Colorado
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Montana
• Nevado
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• New York
• Texas
• Washington

Swift Transportation does cross border runs into Canada and Mexico and both countries have strict immigration policies concerning convicted felons entering their territories.

If you didn’t mention a felony during your application because its reporting was time-limited in your state, your conviction would be discovered if you had to drive a route that involved a border crossing, and you were refused entry.

When you have your interview with Swift, be prepared to talk about your felony if your interviewer brings it up. It’s never a good idea to try to minimize the offense. Interviewers will have a more positive view of you if you take responsibility for your mistakes.

What Type Of Routes Do Swift Offer?

Swift Transportation offers a full range of trucking routes. You can find jobs available for local, regional, dedicated, and over the road routes. Swift also does team driving, which gives you an opportunity to earn more money.

The load types you can transport with Swift are refrigerated, dry van, flatbed, intermodal, ocean containers, and heavy haul.

As a major carrier, Swift can offer you stable miles every week, regular home time, weekly pay, late-model trucks, choice of driving regions, health insurance, and paid vacation.

With Swift Transportation, you’re able to have a companion with you in your truck under their Rider policy so you can bring your loved ones on the road with you if you want to.

• Children must be at least 12 years old, and under 18s can’t join you while school is in session. Pregnant partners can’t ride in the truck.
• A $100 insurance fee is deducted from your paycheck.

And if your loved one has 4 legs, they have a dog policy, so your best buddy can join you in the cab.

Apply For A Job With Swift Transportation

If your felony is over 10 years old and you want to put in an application with Swift, you can easily apply online or call a recruiter by going to https://www.swifttrans.com/careers/drivers

To complete your application, you’ll need to have the following information to hand:

• Your social security number
• Driver’s license number and driving history covering the last 3 years
• Home addresses for the last 3 years
• Up to 10 years of employment history
• Driving violations over the last 5 years

You should hear from a recruiter within a couple of days. And Swift aims to get qualified applicants on the road quickly with the whole hiring process usually taking a couple of weeks.

Swift Truck Driving Academy

If you haven’t got your CDL yet, you can apply to take your CDL training at one of Swift’s truck driving schools.

Swift Academy is a high-quality CDL training school, and once you qualify, you’ll switch to their paid trainee driver program to get the driving hours and experience you need to drive solo.

The cost of tuition is roughly $4000, but Swift will cover the fee and recoup the cost by deducting a small amount from your paycheck each week for the first year of your employment with them.

If you remain with Swift for a second year, they add that amount back to your wages each week, so in the end, your CDL training costs you nothing.

Swift Truck Driving Academy has schools in:

• Phoenix, Arizona – 3-week program
• Lewiston, Idaho – 2-week program
• Memphis, Tennessee – 2-week program
• Corsicana, Texas – 2-week program
• Richmond, Virginia – 3-week program

With the 2 week courses, you’ll need to complete some at-home training first. This online training prepares you for your written exam at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Upon passing the exam, you will be issued your CDL-A permit. Then you’re all set to attend the 2-week course at the academy.

For the 3-week courses, all training takes place at the truck driving school.

In the paid trainee driver program, which lasts about 6 weeks, you’ll be paired with a qualified driver and earn roughly $450 per week.

Which Other Trucking Companies Hire Felons?

If your felony is too recent to qualify for Swift Transportation, there are other companies where you will have a better chance of being hired.

These trucking companies hire on a case-by-case basis with no minimum time limit on felonies, although you will need an acceptable driving record:

• JB Hunt
• Roehl Transport
• Trimac
• Waggoners Trucking

The following companies will take applications from CDL holders with felonies older than 5 years:

• D. Transport Express
• Bear Trucking
• Boyd Brothers
• Covenant Transport
• DeBoer Trucking
• L Hollingsworth
• Groendyke Transport
• Koch Trucking
• Melton Truck Lines
• Mesilla Valley Transportation
• S. Xpress Inc
• WEL Companies
• Paschall Truck Lines
• Salmon Companies

If your Felony Is over 7 Years Old, these companies will consider your application:

• Bennett Motor Express
• Barr-Nunn Transportation
• Estenson Logistics
• First Fleet Inc
• HVH Transportation
• Hornady Transportation
• Super Service

Conclusion

Swift Transportation will hire felons but 10 years need to have passed since the date of your conviction. At that point, you can apply to work with the company, but they will still look at the nature of the offense and your record since that time to make their decision.

You’ll also need to meet their other hiring requirements, which include having no DUIs for 10 years if you already have a CDL, no major accidents in the last 5 years, and a limited number of moving violations.

If you don’t meet Swift’s hiring requirements, there are other trucking companies who will consider applicants with more recent felonies.

Related: Second Chance Trucking Companies.