Appellate Court Affirms EEOC Disability Trial Victory

St. Louis – The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a judgment in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and against Omaha, Nebraska-based Werner Trucking on July 10.

The EEOC’s lawsuit alleged Werner violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it refused to hire a qualified deaf truck driver because he was deaf. In September 2023, a Nebraska jury agreed and awarded $75,000 in compensatory damages and $36 million in punitive damages. The U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska entered judgment in favor of EEOC, reducing the jury’s award to the statutory cap of $300,000 and awarding back pay and prejudgment interest. The district court also ordered injunctive relief requiring Werner to report certain information about deaf applicants to the EEOC.

Werner appealed to the circuit court, arguing the district court erred by: granting a directed verdict on the issue of causation; granting summary judgment in EEOC’s favor on certain affirmative defenses; making several adverse evidentiary rulings against Werner; denying Werner’s motions for judgment as a matter of law; granting injunctive relief, and awarding prejudgment interest.

The appellate court’s thorough opinion systematically analyzed each point the company raised on appeal. “[D]iscerning no error,” the court’s three-judge panel unanimously affirmed the judgment in its totality.

“The ADA was signed 35 years ago, and it remains an important protection for people with disabilities in the workplace,” said Jennifer Goldstein, associate general counsel for the EEOC. “This is an important opinion—it recognized the trial court and jury’s decisions and is a clear win for enforcement of the law. No one should be judged by prejudice, and the EEOC will aggressively pursue violations of federal employment law, in trial courts and courts of appeal.”

The appellate decision caps almost seven years of litigation. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Drivers Mgmt, LLC and Werner Enterprises, Inc., Case No. 8:18-cv-00462) in U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska in 2018. As in all EEOC cases, the agency first attempted to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

“Companies must refrain from discriminating against people with disabilities and must offer reasonable accommodations,” said Gail Coleman, lead EEOC appellate attorney. “Deaf and hearing people alike should be able to work free from stereotypes and unfounded fears. The Court’s decision will help ensure employees are judged on their merits and help ensure that the rights secured by the Americans with Disabilities Act continue to have meaning.”

For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination.

The EEOC’s office of Appellate Litigation in Washington D.C. briefed and argued the case on appeal. The office handles all EEOC cases in federal circuit courts of appeal.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.