Two trucking companies have violated federal law by discriminating against people with disabilities, according to separate lawsuits filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Atlanta-based Pilot Freight Services fired its international director over cancer diagnosis, EEOC lawsuit alleges deposit Friday.

Pilot Freight Services is a global transportation and logistics provider with 96 locations in North America, as well as operations in Europe and Asia. Pilot has an internal fleet of 277 motor vehicles and 255 drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

On June 7, 2019, Thomas Hunt told his manager at Pilot Freight Services that he needed to seek permission to see his doctor about certain biopsy results, according to the EEOC.

“About 10 days later, Hunt was fired by Pilot, allegedly as a result of downsizing. Pilot claimed that Hunt was laid off because he had less seniority than other employees and that his position had been abolished.However, in the months leading up to and following Hunt’s firing, Pilot hired several employees who were not fired based on their seniority and hired an employee in a position very similar to that of that Hunt occupied before, and with a higher salary ”, according to the lawsuit.

The EEOC seeks unspecified salary arrears, compensatory damages and punitive damages for Hunt.

“Cancer is a pretty big disaster for anyone without an employer piling up and firing them because of the disease,” Darrell Graham, district manager of the Atlanta office, said in a statement. declaration.

In a separate trial deposit On Thursday, the EEOC alleges that Dallas-based Stevens Transport discriminated against a candidate because of his disability – hypertension – and because he viewed him as disabled.

The lawsuit also alleges that Stevens Transport violated the law by asking the plaintiff – whom he did not name – a disability-related question before making a job offer.

Stevens Transport is one of the largest refrigerated highway trucking companies in North America. The company operates 1,937 trucks and employs 2,458.

“Employers cannot do any disability-related investigation until a job offer is made,” Meaghan Kuelbs, senior counsel at the EEOC’s Dallas office, said in a statement. “If such information is obtained during the application process, the Americans with Disabilities Act expressly prohibits the exclusion of an applicant from employment simply on the basis of their disability status.

According to the lawsuit, the claimant applied to Stevens Transport in August 2019. During his interview, the claimant was asked if a gap in his job reflected on his resume was medically related.

“This question led the Applicant to disclose that he had been diagnosed with hypertension in a previous job, which required him to take medical leave. The EEOC lawsuit alleges Stevens Transport did not hire him because he disclosed his prior use of medical leave during the job interview, ”according to the EEOC.

EEOC seeks unspecified wage arrears and compensatory and punitive damages, as well as an injunction for the Stevens Transport plaintiff.

Neither Pilot Freight Services nor Stevens Transport immediately responded to FreightWaves’ request for comment.

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