Too old to insure, too old to hire? EEOC sues Texas trucking firm

Those rules, set out in the company’s Driver Eligibility Standards, allegedly state that all drivers must be between the ages of 23 and 65. Drivers over 60 with any violations or accidents in the past three years are not eligible. And those aged 63 to 65 face an additional requirement: they must submit a long-form medical examination report, known as Form MCSA-5875, that younger drivers are not asked to provide.

The EEOC alleges that federal law does not require employers of truck drivers to obtain that form.

The applicant at the center of the case had been driving trucks for more than 20 years with a clean record. He was 64 when he applied for a position with the company in November 2023, meeting with a recruiter and submitting his application the same day, the complaint states.

The recruiter allegedly told him his application would need to go to the insurer for review because of his age. Several weeks later, when the applicant returned to the company’s facility in Pharr, Texas, to follow up, the recruiter allegedly told him the insurance provider said he could not be hired because of his age.

The company refused to hire him on or about November 27, 2023, the complaint alleges.