The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued a Texas based trucking company for age discrimination by firing and refusing to hire drivers over the age of 65.

According to the lawsuit, in March 2024, the trucking company fired a 69-year-old driver, a four-year veteran of the company, because the company’s new liability insurance policy did not cover drivers aged 65 or older. The EEOC also charged that in July 2024, the company refused to hire a 68-year-old applicant for a driving position because of his age. Both the employee and applicant held commercial driver’s licenses and met the physical requirements to operate commercial motor vehicles.

The EEOC’s complaint alleges the company violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which prohibits discrimination against individuals 40 or older because of age, including discharge, failure to hire, and different terms and conditions of employment. In a statement, EEOC Dallas District Office Director Travis Nicholson said, “Employers are ultimately responsible for their own hiring, firing, and conditions of employment. They cannot escape liability for evident age-based employment decisions just because another private party, such as an insurance company, imposes an age-based restriction.”

This puts NEFI members in a difficult situation regarding older CDL drivers. According to the EEOC, decisions to terminate an older driver must be made on an individual basis and must be related to the driver’s capability to perform the requirements of the job. Companies may not impose a blanket policy that a driver beyond a certain age must retire or be terminated.

Yet the EEOC in this litigation means that companies must seek new insurance coverage or a policy rider that would insure a driver over the age of 65 – you may not use this lack of insurance coverage as a reason to terminate or refuse to hire a driver over 65.