Wilson Logistics to Pay $50,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit

GREENSBORO, N.C. –Transportation Management Group, a trucking company doing business as Wilson Logistics, Inc., will pay $50,000 to a deaf truck driver and furnish other relief to settle a disability-based hiring discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the applicant called Wilson Logistics seeking work as a truck driver. He possessed a commercial driver’s license, had relevant experience and an exemption from regulatory hearing requirements by the U.S. Department of Transportation. When the applicant spoke to Wilson through a video relay service, the company’s representative told him the company does not hire individuals who communicate through sign language. He also told the applicant that the company would not hire someone who could not read, write, and speak English.

“The Americans with Disabilities Act protects job applicants as well as employees,” said Melinda C. Dugas, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District. “An employer that refuses to consider a job applicant solely because the applicant has a disability violates federal law.”

The alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits companies from refusing to hire individuals with a disability. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Transportation Management Group, d/b/a Wilson Logistics, Case No. 1:24-cv-00640-CCE-LPA) in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, Greensboro Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

In addition to paying monetary damages, the two-year consent decree settling the suit requires Wilson Logistics to revise all application materials to comply with the injunctive relief; post an employee notice; develop and distribute a disability accommodations policy to its employees; conduct annual ADA training with all managers in its recruitment and human resources department; and submit periodic compliance reports to the EEOC.

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

The EEOC’s Charlotte District has jurisdiction over North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

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 also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.