The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced last Friday that a man who was denied employment with a trucking company because he was deaf will be awarded more than $36 million following a federal jury’s deliberation.
The Nebraska jury deliberated for less than two hours after a four-day trial and concluded that the defendants, Drivers Management and Werner, violated the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). Under the ADA, it is illegal to discriminate against individuals because of their disability. As a result, the jury returned a judgment awarding the man, Victor Robinson, $75,000 in compensatory damages and $36,000,000 in punitive damages.
Robinson is described as having a disability that substantially limits major life activities and bodily functions. One such limitation is his inability to hear. As a deaf individual, Robinson relies on a combination of American Sign Language and assistive technologies to help him manage his disability.
The complaint was filed by the EEOC in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska and named Drivers Management, LLC, and Werner Enterprises, Inc., as defendants. The lawsuit details that Robinson completed a Werner-owned truck driving school course and earned his commercial driving license (CDL). Robinson then obtained an official exemption from the hearing regulation from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
In 2016, Robinson applied to be a truck driver with the company, but his application was denied. Robinson was told by the company's Vice President of Safety that his application was denied because he was deaf. During the trial, the Vice President of Safety testified that the company continues to deny employment to new applicants who are deaf.
Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for EEOC’s St. Louis District, shared in the EEOC’s press statement, “The jury heard the evidence and called Werner’s conduct what it was – unacceptable,” adding, “Like everyone else, deaf people deserve a fair chance to make a living and to support themselves and their families.”
EEOC’s trial team added, “Werner’s refusal to acknowledge Mr. Robinson’s abilities hurt not only him, but the entire deaf community,” and “As this verdict demonstrates, companies like Werner that deny reasonable accommodations to drivers with disabilities do so at their peril.”
The trucking company, Werner, has offices in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, China, and Australia, and is one of the top five largest trucking companies in the world. Drivers Management is a wholly-owned subsidiary that employs, trains, and manages truck drivers.
