Sunday, May 02, 2010
Female trucker
In a legal case that has ramifications for women working in male-dominated jobs, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of a female truck driver who claimed she was fired unfairly because of her gender.
It took years for Deborah Merritt, an employee of Old Dominion Freight Line, to move out of her position as a long-haul truck driver and into a local pickup-and-delivery position. During the civil trial, Merritt testified that Old Dominion supervisors told her she could not have the new job because they weren’t for women and that the company was afraid she would get hurt performing the duties required.
Eventually, though, Merritt landed a pickup and delivery job—and was subjected to a 90-day probationary period, which male drivers did not have to endure. She passed her probation and worked for two years without incident. Then, in September 2004, Merritt suffered an ankle injury, and when she tried to reclaim her job, the company forced her to pass a series of physical ability tests. She struggled with some of them, resulting in Old Dominion terminating her employment.
The Fourth Circuit reversed a lower court ruling that found in favor of the trucking company. The appellate ruling stated: “Old Dominion terminated a good employee who, pre-injury, performed her job ably and without complaint and who, post-injury was both willing and able to report to this same job for work. These facts, if believed, would allow a jury to think Old Dominion was simply looking for a reason to get rid of Merritt.” Merritt’s case will now proceed to trial.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Truck Driver Wins Gender Discrimination Case In Fourth Circuit (Employee Rights Post)
Fired Female Trucker Raises Jury Issue (by Kevin P. McGowan, BNA Daily Labor Report)
Deborah Merritt v. Old Dominion Freight Line (Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals) (pdf)
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