ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit against an Omaha truckload carrier for charges the company discriminated against a deaf applicant and made illegal disability-related inquiries during the application process.
The EEOC is alleging in its lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska that Werner Enterprises Inc., violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). According to the EEOC, the company told a deaf applicant that it could not hire deaf persons as truck drivers even though the deaf applicant graduated from truck driving school, held a commercial driver license and even received an exception from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to operate a commercial vehicle.
"People who are deaf face many challenges, but finding and holding a good job should not be one of them," EEOC St. Louis District regional attorney Andrea Baran said in a statement. "The EEOC will hold accountable those employers who have not learned that deaf people can drive over-the-road trucks as well as anyone."
The EEOC also alleges that Werner illegally made inquiries relating to the applicant's disabilities on its employment application.