In tough economy, workers losing their jobs can face unnecessary hardships if it happens because of a company’s wrongdoing. Although the law states that all employees should be treated fairly, some companies in California and elsewhere believe they are above the law. A female driver for a trucking company alleges that she was the victim of employment discrimination, which ultimately forced her to lose her job.
The plaintiff was hired as a truck driver in 2012 for a company in another state. After over two years with the company, the woman was involved in a minor accident. She alleges that heavy winds caused her truck off to veer off course, and the ensuing accident caused some damage to the truck’s front bumper.
After the accident, the woman was required to take drug tests to determine if she was under the influence at the time of the crash. Four days after the accident, she went back to work as normal. She was brought onto a conference call with her superiors and was allegedly told that she made a careless decision to decide to drive when there were strong winds. Additionally, she was purportedly told that she would be able to retain her job, but she would be assigned less physical work in the future.
Ultimately, the plaintiff was still fired. She claims that two male drivers who were in more severe accidents were still able to retain their jobs, yet she was forced to lose hers. She believes that she was the victim of employment discrimination based on her gender and is accusing the company of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Similarly situated California employees may consider filing claims against their employers. Based on evidence of the discrimination, workers may be awarded monetary damages and any other financial relief deemed just by the court.
Source: pennrecord.com, “Female trucker sues Centerline Drivers alleging gender discrimination“, Gene Johnson, Nov. 25, 2015