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Lawsuit Claims Bias Against Disabled Drivers

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Medical Exams for TruckersThe federal government is suing North American trucking company Celadon, which operates in Mexico, Canada and the United States.  The suit claims Celadon is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act by requiring applicants to submit to extraneous health screenings, such as vision and hearing screenings, and other cardiovascular tests that weren’t otherwise specified during negotiations.

In a statement, Paul Will, Celadon president and CEO said, “The company only rejected drivers who didn’t meet the United States Department of Transportation Standards… Celadon hires 60-65 drivers per week.”

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission attorney Aarika Mack Brown disagrees saying, “The sixteen rejected applicants, in the suit, were all physically capable of driving a truck.”

Celadon maintains they are not hiring applicants because they cannot hear or have hearing loss, applicants are not being hired because specific DOT standards prevent them from being drivers.  Will says, “Drivers would be hired if they remedied the conditions that caused their rejection, for example, by wearing a hearing aid.”

The suit states federal rules require employers to make a conditional job offer before conducting a physical.

Celadon is one of the top 20 North American trucking companies in terms of revenue, with more than $550 million in operating revenue in 2011, employing more than 2,400 drivers and more than 3,400 non-driver positions.

What do you think, truckers?  Do you feel you’ve ever been unfairly discriminated against when applying for a job?

 

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