Missouri waste company settles sex discrimination suit for $200,000

Summary

• Allied Services agrees to $200,000 settlement
• Jamie Mendoza awarded $150,000 from settlement
• Settlement requires anti-discrimination hiring policies
• Republic Services to conduct annual hiring training

A Springfield waste management company has agreed to pay $200,000 to settle a sex discrimination case dating back to 2020.

A federal lawsuit was filed in 2023 by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Allied Services, LLC, which does business as Allied Waste Services of the Ozarks/Republic Services of the Ozarks, for failing to hire a female garbage truck driver and instead hiring a less qualified male candidate.

Jamie Mendoza applied to work for Republic Services in 2020, according to the lawsuit. After an interview and tour of the facility, she went on a ride-along with a trash truck driver. According to the lawsuit, the company managers told Mendoza during her interview that she should consider whether she truly wanted the position. They said that because female drivers had not worked out in the past, Republic Services would have to build a locker room with a shower for female drivers if she was hired.

When Mendoza indicated she still wanted the job, the company rejected her and instead hired a man for the position. According to previous News-Leader reporting, Mendoza had held a commercial driver’s license longer, had more large commercial trucking experience and had more years’ experience continuously operating vehicles requiring a commercial driver’s license. Mendoza applied for trash truck driver positions at Republic Services two to three more times but was not interviewed again or offered the position.

The company did not have any female drivers at the time and the lawsuit alleged that since at least March 2020, it had “routinely” failed to hire qualified female applicants for driver positions because of their sex.

The lawsuit was filed after the EEOC first tried to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process, according to an EEOC news release. The $200,000 monetary settlement was reached just weeks before the case was set to go to jury trial starting April 13.

Republic Services provided the following written statement on the matter: “Republic Services of the Ozarks is committed to fair and respectful workplace practices that are free from discrimination. We emphatically deny any wrongdoing in this matter and chose to settle this case to avoid further litigation for all parties involved.”

According to the documents filed in federal court, Mendoza will receive $150,000 of the settlement amount, half of which will be designated as lost wages and the other half as compensatory damages. The lawsuit identified four additional women who will also receive monetary compensation. One of these applicants will receive a total $20,000 and other three will receive $10,000, both split evenly between wages and damages.

The settlement also includes a requirement that Republic Services adopt or maintain and abide by policies and procedures to prevent sex discrimination when hiring for trash truck drivers; utilize an applicant tracking system; require all managers, supervisors, human resources personnel and others involved in hiring to complete a minimum one-hour live, in-person interactive training on an annual basis; and report information to the EEOC regarding applicants and sworn certifications that the company has complied with all requirements. These requirements will be in place for three years.