PrintDec. 10--The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has appealed the dismissal of its class-action discrimination case on behalf of women truck drivers and driver trainees at CRST Van Expedited in Cedar Rapids.
The commission investigates claims of employment and hiring discrimination. The case sought to recover damages for 230 women who had complained of sexual harassment at CRST. Most had been paired with male drivers on two-driver teams that CRST uses to deliver loads over long distances more quickly.
Complaints ranged from sexual assault to exposure to sexual language and exhibitionism.
Women drivers and the EEOC asserted the company failed to prevent the behavior, but U.S. District Judge Linda Reade dismissed most of the complaints in August.
The judge ruled the EEOC didn't meet federal requirements to prove the claims. Reade also ruled the EEOC must pay CRST's legal expenses and costs.
CRST's attorneys submitted more than $8 million in attorney's fees and expenses. One of the main attorneys for CRST, Robert Markowski, alone sought $938,000.
The EEOC filed notice Nov. 30 it is appealing the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. If Judge Reade's decision is overturned, it could avoid paying legal expenses, or it could be further appealed. Out of the roughly 230 plaintiffs, only four received settlements from CRST -- Latesha Thomas, Cindy Moffett, Barbara Grant and Nicole Ann Cinquemano. They recently dismissed their cases due to a settlement.
Thomas, who lives in New Orleans, said she is glad to have the case behind her, but her life was changed by the situations she encountered at CRST. "It was a nail-biter because of all the women's cases that were thrown out," she said. "It was really unfortunate for a lot of those ladies." Thomas said she can't disclose her settlement because of terms of the settlement agreement, but she has enough money to live comfortably and volunteer while she looks for work. She also has a big new pickup truck. She expects to spend much of the next year caring for grandchildren in Virginia while their parents serve in the military in Iraq.
-- Comments: (319) 398-8317; david.dewitte@gazcomm.com
To see more of The Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.gazetteonline.com . Copyright (c) 2009, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com , call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.