Court Requires UPS to Hire Deaf
Drivers 11-08-2006
- By Rita Risser, attorney at law

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered UPS to stop refusing to hire deaf persons as drivers. UPS claimed it did so for safety reasons, but the Court held the company did not provide any credible evidence that deaf drivers have worse safety records than hearing drivers. UPS also pointed out that the Department of Transportation prohibits deaf drivers of large vehicles, but the Court noted the DOT regulation does not apply to vehicles the size of UPS trucks.

The Court observed that UPS tolerated accidents by its hearing drivers, who were allowed to continue driving even after two accidents. The Court said if particular deaf drivers proved to be unable to drive safely during their training or once on the road, the company was free to remove them from driving.

Bates v. UPS (9th Cir 10/10/2006)

What This Means to You: Any time a company or hiring manager uses a blanket policy to exclude any group, on its face it is illegal. Rather than looking at applicants by group, evaluate them based on their individual abilities.

 

Information here is correct at the time it is posted. Case decisions cited here may be reversed. Please do not rely on this information without consulting an attorney first.