Allied Services, LLC, doing business as Allied Waste Services of the Ozarks/Republic Services of the Ozarks, agreed to the settlement after the EEOC alleged the company engaged in a pattern of sex discrimination in hiring for driver positions at its Springfield, Missouri location. The settlement resolves claims that Republic Services routinely failed to hire qualified female applicants since at least March 2020.
The discrimination allegations centered on the company's treatment of Jamie Mendoza, who applied for a garbage truck driver position in May 2020. According to the EEOC's lawsuit, company managers told Mendoza during her interview that 'female drivers had not worked out in the past' and warned her to 'carefully consider whether she wanted the position because Republic Services would have to build a locker room with a shower for female drivers if she were hired.' Despite expressing continued interest in the position, Mendoza was rejected in favor of a less-qualified male applicant.
The settlement terms were not fully disclosed beyond the $200,000 monetary payment. The company had no female drivers working at the facility at the time of Mendoza's application, according to the EEOC's complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
The case reflects the EEOC's ongoing focus on addressing sex-based hiring discrimination in traditionally male-dominated industries. The waste management and transportation sectors have been recurring targets of EEOC enforcement actions challenging barriers that exclude women from driver and equipment operator positions.
'When employers make hiring decisions based on sex, rather than qualifications, both the employer and the applicants suffer,' said Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for the EEOC's St. Louis District. 'The EEOC is committed to enforcing the law to ensure that applicants are not shut out from particular jobs or industries because of their sex.'
'Every worker deserves a fair shot at a job regardless of their sex,' added David S. Davis, district director for the EEOC's St. Louis District Office. 'The EEOC will continue to protect workers from unlawful sex discrimination.'
The settlement resolves allegations that Republic Services violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex. The EEOC filed the lawsuit after attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process failed.