Lawsuits are every trucking company’s worst nightmare. In an industry that often sees liability issues arise, businesses will often go out of their way to cater to their employees to avoid such incidents. Unfortunately, not all companies are like this.
This time around, R&L Carriers, Inc. is reminding us why every employee or applicant should be treated fairly.
According to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Ohio-based trucking company was recently involved in a sex discrimination lawsuit. Spoiler alert – they lost.
R&L Carriers, Inc. was ordered to pay out $1.25 million for sex discrimination
R&L Carriers has one of the largest trucking fleets in the United States, coming in at 15th on Freightwaves‘ 2023 Top-500 Carriers list with 6,744 tractors and 19,709 trailers. That said, they probably won’t feel a $1.25 million hit as much as some other companies. Still, that’s got to hurt.
But what did they actually do?
According to the lawsuit, the trucking company discriminated against women across a seven-year span. A large percentage of female loader applicants were directed toward other positions or rejected altogether and a handful of witnesses claimed that they were told R&L Carriers does not hire female loaders. The difference between percentage of female applicants hired and male applicants hired was drastic.
For any trucking company, especially one that large, that is not something that should ever happen. R&L Carriers decided to follow that path and they are paying the price.
At the end of the day, the goal is to make sure every company gives an equal opportunity to every applicant. Indianapolis District Director Michelle Eisele weighed in and said “I am pleased qualified women will finally have the opportunity to be hired as loaders at R & L Carriers rather than being steered to office jobs.” Hopefully, the Ohio-based company will make sure they don’t repeat the same mistakes.