Woman sues trucking school over alleged sexism, racism, discrimination in initial “crash course” outlining trucking industry culture

A woman is suing an Oregon community college after hearing racist, sexist, and other discriminatory comments about trucking industry culture during the CDL class she attended on a state grant. 

55-year-old Linda Derks attended Chemeketa Community College’s commercial drivers license school in Salem, Oregon in 2023 after her diner went out of business during the pandemic. Now, she’s suing the school over the discriminatory treatment she says she witnessed and experienced during her time in the program. 

“I had just had my restaurant closed, gone through the struggles and difficulties of the pandemic like everyone else,” she said. “I was very excited to make this radical career change.”

According to the Salem Reporter, Derks was awarded a state grant aimed at helping women, people of color, veterans and others, which she used to attend the school. She says the discrimination started on the first day, during a  “crash course” on what to expect from the industry. She says the instructors gave warnings about women, Mexican and Middle Eastern people, and even singled her out during class for being a woman. She says she was also given less opportunities for drive time than her male counterparts during the course. 

Derks was able to complete the course, obtain her CDL, and get a job as a female truck driver, but she says her lawsuit against the trucking school is part of her fight to hold her trainers accountable and put a spotlight on trucking industry culture. 

Derks’ lawyer quit the case in November 2024 after a disagreement about how to handle mediation with the school. She is required to secure new representation by April 2025. The school says it plans to file to have the case dismissed as soon as she secures new representation, claiming that the discrimination claims Derks has made are false, and that she failed to seek help during her time at the school. 

“I may have passed based on driving skills, but emotionally and mentally, you’re in this place of why would I want to go into a career where I’m not welcome?” Derks said. “It was a punch in the face, and it really changed how I viewed the industry as a whole and locally.”