The recent EEOC settlement involving Central Transport and sex discrimination left me wondering: How many good drivers might a company miss when assumptions get in the way of hiring decisions?

How many good drivers might a company miss by letting stereotypes narrow the talent pool? How many motor carriers have potential landmines lurking in their hiring and HR processes and policies? How can carriers make sure they aren't opening themselves up to a lawsuit while navigating shifting expectations around hiring and workplace diversity?

If you haven’t read about the case, you can read the EEOC’s news release, but in a nutshell, the Michigan-based carrier was accused of passing over experienced female applicants while hiring less-qualified men as truck drivers. Central denied the allegations but agreed to a $5.5 million settlement.

Central Transport EEOC Case: What Happened?

Complaints from two women at Central’s Phoenix terminal in 2016 triggered a 10-year investigation of the company's hiring practices by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Female driver applicants with 15 and 20 years of behind-the-wheel experience were told they wouldn’t get an interview or to not even bother applying because it wouldn’t do any good.

The EEOC said it discovered the Phoenix terminal was not the only one largely ignoring female driver applicants.

At the Detroit terminal, a woman truck driver applied for a job with her male cousin. About 10 minutes later, the two realized they had left some information off their applications and went back to the terminal. The Central Transport employee had a hard time finding the female driver’s paperwork…. Until he fished it out of the trash.

The male cousin was eventually hired. The female driver never got an interview.

The first thing that struck me about the case was that if the EEOC's allegations are accurate, Central Transport may have been depriving itself of safe, experienced drivers.

What Research Says About Women Truck Drivers and Safety

That's especially notable at a time when safety performance is under increasing scrutiny.

Motor carrier safety is increasingly under a microscope, as the FMCSA cranks down on unsafe carriers, plaintiffs' lawyers have trucking in their crosshairs, and brokers are likely to screen the companies they use more carefully following a recent Supreme Court decision.

Which brings us back to the women drivers Central allegedly wasn't hiring.

Recent research suggests women drivers, on average, may have stronger safety and compliance records than their male counterparts.

An Auburn University study looked at 12 years of data and concluded that male truck drivers were more likely than female drivers to engage in risky driving behavior, to have a major unsafe driving violation, and to violate hours-of-service rules.

Hiring in a Time of DEI Scrutiny

The Central Transport case also comes at a time when employers are trying to navigate an increasingly complicated hiring landscape.

On one hand, companies need to make sure they're not engaging in discriminatory hiring practices.

On the other hand, many companies have been forced to reexamine recruiting and diversity programs because of the Trump administration's scrutiny of DEI initiatives.

Can AI Improve Hiring Decisions?

Some employers may be tempted to take humans out of the equation altogether and rely more heavily on artificial intelligence to screen applicants. But that approach carries its own risks.

“There have been high-profile challenges to the use of these tools, alleging that the systems discriminate based on age, gender and race,” said attorneys at the law firm Seyfarth, in a discussion of the Central Transport case and other recent EEOC actions.

On top of that, we’ve seen increasing indications that AI screening tools may end up screening out some of the best potential candidates for the job.

So what can fleets do without getting tangled in political debates or running afoul of discrimination laws?

Focus on Qualifications, not Assumptions

The most obvious takeaway from the Central Transport case is that hiring decisions should be based on documented qualifications and job-related criteria.

Whether a candidate is male or female, young or old, a veteran or new to trucking, the questions should be the same: Does this person have the skills, experience, and safety record needed for the job?

When hiring managers rely on assumptions rather than objective criteria, they not only create legal risk, they may also overlook strong candidates.

Some fleets say the answer doesn't lie in quotas or preferential treatment. It's in creating an environment that attracts qualified candidates from a wider range of backgrounds.

“Our focus has always been on, how do we find the brightest and most capable employees to come together?” Kelly Cruse, VP of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer for Atlas World Group, told me in an interview last year.

“Because we want a strong workforce. So how do we make an environment where that attracts people to us?”

Why Hiring Documentation Matters

One aspect of the EEOC's allegations that may not attract as many headlines as applications being thrown in the trash is that Central failed to maintain hiring records required under federal law.

In addition to the monetary settlement, Central has agreed to institute training for employees hiring truck drivers on EEOC anti-discrimination rules, on the company’s policy and procedures for reporting alleged discrimination, and its recordkeeping obligations, among other things.

That's a reminder that documentation and standard policies and procedures matter in the recruiting and HR departments just as they do in the safety department.

A bad safety manual, or the lack of one, can torpedo a trucking company in a courtroom. For the recruiting and HR departments, a lack of written and enforced anti-discrimination policies can be a land mine.

Just as fleets document driver qualification files, training records, inspections, and maintenance activities, they should be able to show how hiring decisions were made and that those decisions were based on legitimate business factors.

My Takeaway From the Central Transport Settlement

As freight markets improve and fleets begin competing more aggressively for drivers, finding qualified candidates isn't likely to get any easier.

Recruiting, safety, compliance, company culture, and legal risk all intersect in the hiring process.

In today's hiring environment, fleet managers have to worry about discrimination claims, scrutiny of DEI initiatives, and the potential pitfalls of AI screening tools. But the goal should still be straightforward: Find the best people for the job.

Is your fleet’s hiring process helping you do that? Or getting in the way?