Latest news with #WesternDistributing
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Denver trucking firm settles with EEOC, ending 9-year lawsuit
This story was originally published on Trucking Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Trucking Dive newsletter. Trucking company Western Distributing Transportation agreed to pay $919,000 and adhere to other measures to settle a case with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over alleged disability discrimination. The case, filed in 2016, alleged the company violated labor regulations for terminating employees after they took medical leave, according to the EEOC. Western Distributing President and CEO Vieri Gaines signed a four-year consent decree last week that rejected the discrimination allegations while agreeing to pay damages and complying with third-party monitoring of employment records for several years. Twenty-five percent of the fee will go toward back pay, with the remaining money covering compensatory damages to various aggrieved individuals. The U.S. government identified 58 individuals who were allegedly denied reasonable accommodation or terminated, according to the decree, and the EEOC will create a final list of those entitled to compensation within 60 days of executing the settlement. "We are happy to put this chapter behind us and move forward — and we are just as dedicated as ever before to doing the right thing as we always have,' Gaines said in a news release last week. The nearly decade-long lawsuit comes as Western Distributing, which reported 162 drivers as of last July, is closing in on its 100-year anniversary in 2033. With ties as a Coors' distributor, the company's long-haul division was formally established in 1977 and features refrigerated, armored and specialty hauling, according to the company. A spokesperson for the company, Andy Boian, told Trucking Dive that there's conflict between Labor Department and Department of Transportation policies. The company followed DOT rules in not allowing drivers to drive for the business even if a medical doctor allowed it, he said. The settlement seeks to avoid further costs, disruption and delay, according to the consent decree, signed by both parties. 'Western continues to deny liability on all claims and stands by its strong safety protocols and commitment to fair, lawful employment practices,' the release said. The EEOC argued in its 2016 complaint that the business failed to make reasonable accommodations for individuals, including a driver who required open-heart surgery. That driver, who had a doctor seek to extend the worker's Family and Medical Leave Act time off, sought reassignment as a yard hostler or dispatcher, the lawsuit said. The company refused reasonable accommodations in connection with a Western Distributing employment policy, referred to as a 'full duty' standard, that required employees to return to work without medical restrictions, per the lawsuit. The EEOC alleged the approach violated labor laws. In a 2023 trial, a jury found the EEOC failed to prove two charges regarding a pattern of allegedly discriminating against and failing to accommodate qualified people with disabilities. But the jury did find the business at fault with a charge that certain policies adversely impacted qualified people with disabilities, such as the company's 'full duty' standard and other provisions requiring workers be able to push and pull 130 pounds of weight. The EEOC sought a retrial for the two charges the jury cleared less than a month later. 'Despite this decisive ruling, the EEOC opted to continue pursuing dozens of individual claims in separate proceedings, a process that could have gone on for years and placed significant financial strain on the company,' Western Distributing said in its release last week. Ultimately, the company said it sought a settlement to avoid a battle with an agency that had "virtually unlimited financial resources and an indefinite timeline that Western simply couldn't match." To bring the case to a close, Western Distributing consented to several conditions. Among them, the business agreed to: Delete any mention of 'full duty' in existing policies and 'explain that there is no requirement that employees be fully healed or without restrictions in order to return to work,' with reasonable accommodation involving an interactive process and individualized assessment Expressly state that an up to 12-week family medical leave policy could be extended if appropriate as a reasonable accommodation Develop and maintain a management evaluation of compliance with equal employment opportunities within 60 days of executing the settlement and submit EEO reports on an annual basis Recommended Reading Garten Trucking's union wage comment was improper, US appeals court says
CBC
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
Millions of dimes spill onto Texas highway after truck rolls over
Workers used brooms, shovels and vacuums to clean up $800,000 US in coins Holy moly, that's a lot of coins! And no, we're not talking about coins falling from the sky in a game of Super Mario Bros. These coins spilled on the highway after a tractor-trailer rolled over in Alvord, Texas, on April 29. Two people in the vehicle were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Clean-up crews had to clean up around $800,000 US (1.1 million Cdn) in dimes following the incident. WATCH — Teens answer: What emoji describes your bank account? Why was the truck filled with coins? It's not clear why the vehicle was filled with change. The tractor-trailer appears to be an 18-wheeler from the Colorado-based Western Distributing Transportation Corporation. The company has a division that moves cargo for the U.S. government in armoured vehicles. Armed personnel accompany the drivers for the ride. A person answering the phone at the company told The Associated Press they had no comment on May 15. A tractor-trailer rolled over on a highway in Texas on April 29, spilling the coins it was transporting. (Image credit: Austin Jackson/Wise County Messenger/The Associated Press) How did they clean the coins up? Officials said the workers spent hours cleaning up the mess on their hands and knees. A United States Armored Company employee gathered the dimes on their hands and knees. Some even used brooms, shovels and vacuums. (Image credit: Austin Jackson/Wise County Messenger/The Associated Press) Some used brooms, shovels and industrial vacuums to get the job done. And it was a pretty big job. The highway was closed for more than 13 hours, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The Guardian
01-05-2025
- The Guardian
Coin flip: 8m freshly minted dimes spilled on US highway after truck crash
An avalanche of 8m freshly minted dimes spilled from an overturned truck and closed a Texas highway for almost 14 hours. Witnesses described a sea of silver on US Route 287 in Alvord, 50 miles north of Fort Worth. Clean-up crews attempted to suck up the coins, worth $800,000, using vacuums more commonly used to unclog sewers and drains. Officials said the truck involved in the accident was an 18-wheeler from the Colorado-based Western Distributing Transportation Corporation, whose operations feature a fleet of armored vehicles that ferry currency and other valuable cargo for clients including the US government. The origin of the cash discharged in Tuesday morning's rollover is not known. Both the US treasury department and Western Distributing did not return calls for comment. Public safety officials in Wise county said the two occupants of the truck, believed to be the driver and an armed guard from Western's US Armored Company Services (USAC) subsidiary, were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. No other vehicle was involved. Footage taken by CBS News Texas showed uniformed USAC employees sifting through dirt, gravel and plants at the side of the roadside to recover some of the coins, while others were collected with shovels and buckets. The bulk of the money, according to Alvord's mayor, Caleb Caviness, was retrieved with heavy machinery. 'The funniest part to me was that they picked up the dimes using the vacuum trucks that are used to suck out sewage and water and stuff like that,' he told the New York Times. 'We were joking around that the city of Alvord would be metal detecting.' The Wise County Messenger reported that two southbound lanes of US 287 were closed after the accident shortly after 5.30am, and remained inaccessible until the evening, causing miles-long lines of traffic. Texas department of safety troopers kept some curious spectators from the scene, although the Times reported than an expected horde of speculators, fired up by rumors circulating in Alvord that the coin spillage was $8m instead of $800,000, 'never showed up'. According to Western Distribution's website, USAC has more than 40 armored units equipped to safeguard cargo in transit. 'We move cargo for all divisions of the government and were awarded [contracts] to move several of the government's banks over the years,' wording on its website states. 'If it must be secure in transit, any amount, anywhere, USAC can make it happen! We would tell you more about what we can do, but it's confidential!'
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Yahoo
Coin flip: 8m freshly minted dimes spilled on US highway after truck crash
An avalanche of 8m freshly minted dimes spilled from an overturned truck and closed a Texas highway for almost 14 hours. Witnesses described a sea of silver on US Route 287 in Alvord, 50 miles north of Fort Worth. Clean-up crews attempted to suck up the coins, worth $800,000, using vacuums more commonly used to unclog sewers and drains. Officials said the truck involved in the accident was an 18-wheeler from the Colorado-based Western Distributing Transportation Corporation, whose operations feature a fleet of armored vehicles that ferry currency and other valuable cargo for clients including the US government. The origin of the cash discharged in Tuesday morning's rollover is not known. Both the US treasury department and Western Distributing did not return calls for comment. Public safety officials in Wise county said the two occupants of the truck, believed to be the driver and an armed guard from Western's US Armored Company Services (USAC) subsidiary, were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. No other vehicle was involved. Footage taken by CBS News Texas showed uniformed USAC employees sifting through dirt, gravel and plants at the side of the roadside to recover some of the coins, while others were collected with shovels and buckets. The bulk of the money, according to Alvord's mayor, Caleb Caviness, was retrieved with heavy machinery. 'The funniest part to me was that they picked up the dimes using the vacuum trucks that are used to suck out sewage and water and stuff like that,' he told the New York Times. 'We were joking around that the city of Alvord would be metal detecting.' The Wise County Messenger reported that two southbound lanes of US 287 were closed after the accident shortly after 5.30am, and remained inaccessible until the evening, causing miles-long lines of traffic. Texas department of safety troopers kept some curious spectators from the scene, although the Times reported than an expected horde of speculators, fired up by rumors circulating in Alvord that the coin spillage was $8m instead of $800,000, 'never showed up'. According to Western Distribution's website, USAC has more than 40 armored units equipped to safeguard cargo in transit. 'We move cargo for all divisions of the government and were awarded [contracts] to move several of the government's banks over the years,' wording on its website states. 'If it must be secure in transit, any amount, anywhere, USAC can make it happen! We would tell you more about what we can do, but it's confidential!'
