Michigan trucking company to pay $5.5 million to settle suit over failure to hire female truck drivers

A Michigan based trucking company will pay millions to settle a federal lawsuit alleging that it “failed to hire female truck drivers for at least ten years nationwide.”

On May 15, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that Central Transport, LLC will pay $5.5 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the company of gender-based hiring discrimination.

The $5.5 million will be paid to the four original complainants and a class of other qualified female truck drivers who applied but were not hired.

The agreement with the EEOC also requires Central Transport to allow affected applicants to apply for positions and participate in the company’s recruitment and hiring processes free from discrimination and retaliation.

According to the EEOC lawsuit, Central Transport routinely hired less qualified male truck drivers over female truck drivers for at least ten years, with gender-based discrimination reported at company locations in Atlanta, Georgia, Bartlett, Tennessee, Blue Springs, Missouri, Cheboygan, Michigan, Chicago, Illinois, Detroit, Michigan, Dunbar, West Virginia, Horn Lake, Mississippi, Memphis, Tennessee, North Jackson, Ohio, Phoenix, Arizona, Portland, Oregon, and Springfield, Illinois.

“Several female driver applicants also observed Central Transport throwing their job applications in the trash at local truck terminals, and some company terminals including the Phoenix and El Paso locations did not hire any female truck drivers for a number of years despite having numerous female applicants,” the EEOC said.

The lawsuit also alleges that a dispatcher at a Dunbar, West Virginia, terminal told a female job applicant that the corporate officers instructed them not hire women truck drivers.

“Unfortunately, sex discrimination in hiring continues to be a problem in some industries,” said Mary Jo O’Neill, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Phoenix District Office. “It is illegal for employers to refuse to hire women because of their sex. We appreciate Central Transport’s willingness to resolve this case with an early settlement. We hope that through this consent decree, Central Transport’s efforts will result in a hiring process free from sex discrimination.”

“Female workers who are qualified for a job should be given an equal chance to compete for the position with men. We also remind employers that they need to retain job applications and hiring records, particularly when they have received charges of discrimination. The EEOC is committed to fighting for the rights of all qualified workers, including women,” said EEOC Phoenix District Director Melinda Caraballo.