“Monica” worked as a truck driver for a large, national company. She passed all physical requirements for the position and performed well in her job.
She got an on the job injury about 8 months into her position. She had to take some time off for medical rehabilitation. When it was time for her to come back, the company told her that she needed to take a physical abilities test in order to get her job back. The test measured arm strength, leg strength, and abdominal strength, among other things. This time, when she took the test, she did not pass. In fact, many females did not pass this test, and the relationship between the physical abilities measured by the test and the skills required for the truck driver position was tenuous.
So Monica filed a gender discrimination claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She alleged that the physical requirements test was discriminatory against women, because it measured a number of physical requirements that had little to no bearing on the job itself.
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Later, another truck driver job opened at the company, so Monica applied for it. The company responded that “due to your pending legal matter,” her application would not be processed any further. The “pending legal matter” was the claim she had filed with the EEOC. So the company essentially told Monica that it wouldn’t process her application because she filed a gender discrimination charge with EEOC against it.
Monica found us and we filed a retaliation complaint under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act against the company. After about a year, the company paid Monica $165,000 to settle the case.
We were honored to represent Monica, and grateful that she found the courage to stand up for herself. If you believe that you may be the victim of retaliation at work, please call us to discuss.
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