EEOC Sues Waste Industries and GFL Environmental, Inc. for Sex Discrimination

ATLANTA – Waste Industries U.S.A., LLC, TransWaste Services, LLC,  Waste Industries Atlanta LLC, and GFL Environmental, Inc. (collectively “Waste Industries”), providers of solid waste removal, recycling pickup and landfill operation services, engaged in discrimination by refusing to hire  a class of qualified female applicants as truck drivers because of their sex, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it recently filed.

According to the EEOC’s suit, a class of applicants applied for truck driver positions at multiple Waste Industries locations throughout the state of Georgia, only to be passed over because of their sex. During the application and interview process, female applicants were subjected to derogatory comments about their feminine appearance and were often subjected to a discriminatory line of questioning about their ability to do the job based on sex-based stereotypes, including questions like: “Why would you want a man’s job?” Despite being fully qualified for the positions, female applicants were systematically denied the positions in favor of less qualified male applicants, the EEOC said.

Such alleged discrimination in Waste Industries’ hiring practices violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No. 1:23-CV-04293 JPB JEM) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement via its conciliation process. The EEOC is seeking back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages for a class of female applicants, as well as injunctive relief to prevent future discrimination.

“It is inexcusable and unlawful for an employer to make hiring decisions based on discriminatory stereotypes about sex,” said Marcus G. Keegan, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office. “The EEOC is seeking non-monetary relief, including training high-level executives and policy adjustments, to ensure these employers’ future hiring policies and practices are free from unlawful bias against women.”

Darrell Graham, district director of the Atlanta office, said, “The EEOC remains steadfast in its commitment to enforce Title VII across all industries, including historically male-dominated industries, and to take legal action against employers who systematically engage in unlawful hiring practices.”

For more information on sex-based discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sex-based-discrimination.

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.