Allied Services, LLC, doing business as Allied Waste Services of the Ozarks / Republic Services of the Ozarks, agreed to pay $200,000 to settle a federal sex discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC, the agency announced April 10, 2026. The company provides waste management services nationwide.

The EEOC's lawsuit centered on Jamie Mendoza, who applied in May 2020 to work as a garbage truck driver out of Springfield, Missouri. According to the agency, company managers told Mendoza during her interview that female drivers had not worked out in the past and that she should 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. The EEOC alleged that when Mendoza followed up and indicated she wanted the job, the company rejected her application and hired a less-qualified male for the position. The company had no female drivers at the time.

The EEOC also alleged a broader pattern: since at least March 2020, Republic Services routinely failed to hire qualified female applicants for driver positions because of their sex.

The agency filed suit — EEOC v. Allied Services, LLC, d/b/a Allied Waste Services of the Ozarks / Republic Services of the Ozarks, Case No. 23-3308-MDH — in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process. The alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for the EEOC's St. Louis District, said that when employers make hiring decisions based on sex rather than qualifications, both the employer and the applicants suffer, and that the EEOC is committed to enforcing the law to ensure applicants are not shut out from particular jobs or industries because of their sex. David S. Davis, district director for the EEOC's St. Louis District Office, said every worker deserves a fair shot at a job regardless of their sex, and that the agency will continue to protect workers from unlawful sex discrimination.

The EEOC's St. Louis District Office has jurisdiction over Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and a portion of southern Illinois.