Errors committed by certain employees of the York County Clerk of Courts has resulted in over 2,000 people having their licenses suspended after being found guilty of drug charges. In some cases, these suspensions came about over a year after the offenders had paid their fines and done their jail time.

The employees evidently failed to notify the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation of these individuals’ sentencings, and because PennDOT was responsible for sending out the suspension notices, the individuals never had their licenses suspended until the error was caught. The investigation into the York County Clerk of Courts began after a similar incident occurred in the Philadelphia Court System, prompting the head of the York County Clerk of Courts, Don O’Shell, to check on their records as well.

O’Shell revealed that neither he nor many other employees knew that drug violations resulted in a six month license suspension, which resulted in the failure to notify PennDOT. The employees responsible for the errors had all moved on to different jobs or had left the Clerk of Courts. The office has been trying to catch up on filing the notifications with PennDOT, and PennDOT is required by law to act upon any notices filed, even if they are filed long after the conviction occurred. These suspensions could lead to some of the individuals losing their jobs and suffering other kinds of stress from the issue.