KLLM sued for female-only rules, including required notification of husbands prior to driver training

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing a trucking company for female-only training rules that put female drivers at a disadvantage. 

The EEOC subdued KLLM Transport Services LLC and KLLM Driving Academy Inc. on August 5th, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. 

According to Human Resources Director, the suit outlines the ways that the company’s truck driver training program treated female drivers unfairly – the option to choose a male or female trainer, paperwork requiring the notification of female drivers’ husbands if a male trainer is used, and male trainers’ ability to decline to teach female truck drivers at all. 

The complaint outlines how student truck drivers at the driving academy were required to complete a form stating whether they have a preference for a male or female trainer, or no preference at all, for the six week OTR training period. The company allegedly maintained the policy that “Female Students who elect to wait for a Female Trainer will not be compensated while they wait, if a Male Trainer is available.” While men who preferred a male trainer would be compensated for the same waiting period if a waiting period was required.

The form also contained a section only for female truck driving trainees requiring them to formally notify their husbands if they selected a male or no preference trainer. “I certify that I have notified my Spouse and/or significant other that I have volunteered to complete my training with a Trainer of the opposite sex,” the form read. Male trainees were not required to fill out a similar section. 

Additionally, male trainers were allowed to decline to train female truck drivers without an official reason. The EEOC alleges that this further expanded waiting time for any female truck drivers in training, as most truck drivers are men, and those men can decline to train them. 

Two female truck drivers in training were cited in the case. One of these female drivers says she waited for a month to be trained, and was told that “[n]ot all males can train females. We have 22 females waiting for [a] trainer right now… They can, some just choose not to.” A second female driver cited in the case indicated she was comfortable with a male trainer, and was subsequently told that her husband must consent before training began. 

The EEOC issued reasonable-cause findings back in February 2025, but was unable to reach an agreement. The current suit was filed in August 2026.