J.B. Hunt's South Gate Hub Settles Discrimination Case

SOUTH GATE, CA -- A national trucking company will pay $260,000 to settle allegations it discriminated against four Sikh truck drivers who said they were denied employment at the firm's South Gate branch for refusing to cut their hair and remove their turbans for company drug tests, federal regulators announced Tuesday.

Under the settlement agreement, J.B. Hunt Transport Inc., one of the largest transportation logistics companies in North America, will also provide other relief to settle charges of race, national origin and religious discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The charges filed with EEOC alleged that four East Indian Sikh applicants were denied a religious accommodation during the hiring process when they requested an alternative to the company's hair sample drug-testing policy.

Three of the applicants were denied jobs at the South Gate location while the fourth was screened out during a phone call prior to having a face-to-face meeting at the branch, regulators said.

"Our clients repeatedly asked for alternatives within the drug testing regimes that would allow them to follow their religious tenets, and those requests were denied," said the Sikh Coalition's legal director, Harsimran Kaur. "Thankfully, J.B. Hunt has finally switched gears and moved into the right lane to comply with federal anti-discrimination law."

EEOC investigated the allegations and found reasonable cause to believe that J.B. Hunt failed to provide a religious accommodation and failed to hire a class of individuals due to their race, national origin and religion, in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The charges were filed by the Sikh Coalition on behalf of the four applicants. One of the five articles of faith for Sikhs is maintaining uncut hair.

Without admitting liability, J.B. Hunt agreed to enter into a two-year agreement with EEOC and the four men, thereby avoiding litigation.

During the course of the investigation, J.B. Hunt revised its written policies and procedures regarding discrimination and religious accommodations, and established an alternative to the drug testing by hair sample for those who need an accommodation, the EEOC said.

Aside from the monetary relief, the company will extend a conditional offer of employment to all complainants in the case. J.B. Hunt further agreed to designate an equal employment opportunity consultant, develop written complaint procedures and conduct training for all employees who participate in the hiring, compliance or internal grievance process.

The EEOC will monitor compliance with the agreement.

"J.B. Hunt has been cooperative in working with EEOC to resolve this charge without resorting to litigation," said Rosa Viramontes, director of EEOC's Los Angeles office. "We commend J.B. Hunt's willingness to revise its drug testing policy and take steps to make its hiring process more inclusive for qualified candidates regardless of race, national origin or religion."

-- City News Service, photo via Shutterstock