EEOC sues trucking company for sexual orientation discrimination

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit against TA Dedicated for allegedly committing sexual orientation discrimination.

According to an EEOC news release, TA Dedicated, a carrier doing business as Transport America, violated federal law by subjecting two gay mechanics to harassment and termination due to their sexual orientation. The EEOC claims the company retaliated against them for opposing or complaining about the harassment.

Beginning in late 2018, workers and supervisors at Transport’s facility in North Jackson, Ohio, harassed two mechanics because they are gay, according to the lawsuit. The harassment included frequent use of gay slurs and other derogatory comments, physical violence and other inappropriate contact, defacement of uniforms and other hostile behavior.

The EEOC alleges the company’s human resources and management officials were aware of the harassment but failed to take effective action to stop it and prevent it from recurring.

Instead, after the mechanics reported it, the shop manager threatened that anyone who went to human resources would be terminated. The mechanics then suffered further harassment and retaliation, including destruction of personal property, unfavorable assignments, false accusations and discharge or being forced to quit.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination due to sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as retaliation for opposing discrimination.

“Employees have a right to work in an environment that is free from harassment because of their sexual orientation,” Philadelphia District Office Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence said in a statement. “This lawsuit makes clear that EEOC will vigorously enforce that right, through litigation if necessary.”

The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process. It is seeking permanent injunctive relief prohibiting the companies from discriminating against employees due to sexual orientation or retaliating against them due to protected activity. It also seeks lost wages, compensatory and punitive damages and other relief.

For more information on sexual orientation discrimination, visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity-sogi-discrimination. For more information about retaliation, visit https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation. LL