Mail Hauler Trucking, LLC., which delivers mail for the United States Postal Service in North Dakota and South Dakota, will pay $45,000 and provide other relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) disability discrimination lawsuit, the federal agency announced.

The EEOC’s suit charged that Mail Hauler Trucking fired an employee because of his disability and/or because the company regarded him as disabled. The employee has a physical impairment that causes weakness, muscle spasms and stiffness in his legs, and he walks on his toes.

He worked as a driver delivering mail between various post offices on a route between Watertown and Corona in northeastern South Dakota. The employee was never disciplined for performance during his employment. However, the company fired him despite his ability to perform the essential functions of the job, the EEOC said.

Such alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination based on disability. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Mail Hauler Trucking, LLC., Civil Action No. 1:24-CV-01020-ECS) in U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

In addition to the $45,000 in monetary relief to the employee, the three-year consent decree resolving the lawsuit enjoins Mail Hauler Trucking from discriminating against employees because of their disability in the future. The company will also implement policies prohibiting disability discrimination and policies to ensure that employees are not terminated because of their disabilities.

The company will train all employees, including managers, supervisors and human resources personnel at its locations in South Dakota and North Dakota on the ADA. The decree also requires the company to report complaints of disability-based termination or disability discrimination to the EEOC.

Source: EEOC

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