Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/699972
commercial carrier journal | july 2016 13 JOURNAL NEWS Prime Inc. to settle EEOC discrimination suit for $3M P rime Inc. (CCJ Top 250, No. 16) agreed to pay more than $3 million to settle a discrimina- tion-based lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of more than 60 female truck drivers who claimed they were denied jobs at the company. EEOC charged that a Prime policy stating that female drivers only be trained by female trainers effectively denied women driving jobs at the Springfield, Mo.-based company based on their gender. EEOC said Prime previously had agreed to pay $250,000 to resolve a discrimination claim brought by one of the female truckers. The car- rier then agreed to pay $2.8 million in lost wages and damages for 63 other women who said they were denied jobs. Prime's adoption of the policy was intended to prevent male trainers from sexually harassing female truck operators. The company instituted the same-sex trainer policy in 2004 fol- lowing a separate EEOC-brought law- suit claiming the carrier had violated Title VII provisions. The court overseeing Prime's suit, however, determined Prime's same- sex trainer policy "forced female trainees to wait extended periods of time to be trained, which resulted in most female trainees being denied employment," according to EEOC. The court permanently barred Prime from continuing with the pol- icy in a May 27-issued order. – James Jaillet Sleep apnea research: Driver testing costs average $1,200 T he American Transportation Research Institute last month released the results of its sleep apnea survey, based on data from over 800 commercial drivers (eight in 10 of them company employees, the bal- ance owner-operators). ATRI's report is the first to quantify the costs and other impacts that truck drivers expe- rience as they address obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis and a potential treatment regimen. Among the findings: • Among drivers referred to a sleep study, 53 percent paid some or all of the test costs, with an average of $1,220 in out-of-pocket expenses, representing just over 1.5 weeks of median driver pay at $805 per week. • Health insurance assistance with sleep study costs impacted driver out-of-pocket costs significantly – 61 percent of drivers with no health care coverage of their sleep study incurred out-of-pocket costs exceeding $1,000 compared to 32 percent of drivers whose health insurance did cover some portion of the sleep study with costs exceeding $1,000. • Among drivers reporting time away from work associated with sleep apnea screening, 41 percent indicated days off ranging from one to 30 days. • Use of a continuous positive air- way pressure machine was the most commonly prescribed treatment regi- men. This includes drivers diagnosed with mild sleep apnea, a condition that does not require treatment for medical certification. • The number of drivers who report not adhering to a prescribed OSA treatment was only 1.95 percent of the moderate/severe OSA diag- nosed respondents. • Driver-perceived treatment effi- cacy varied by OSA severity. As OSA diagnosis severity increased, drivers experienced more positive CPAP treatment effects. For example, drivers diagnosed with severe OSA and being treated with CPAP reported increased amounts of sleep (84%), feeling better when they woke up (71%) and lower blood pressure (75%). • Conversely, among the 91 percent of drivers being treated with CPAP — despite a diagnosis of mild sleep apnea — less than a third (32%) experienced improved sleep. • Among drivers who have had sleep studies and those who have not, there is concern about the use of neck circumference and body mass index as measures to refer drivers to sleep studies. Also, among drivers who have been tested, 64 percent believe that U.S. Department of Transportation guidelines for referring drivers are too broad and that medical examiners do not follow the guidelines. – Todd Dills EEOC charged that a Prime policy stating that female drivers only be trained by female trainers effec- tively denied women driv- ing jobs. A pilot program could help determine the practical costs and implications of a proposed rule on obstructive sleep apnea, stakeholders said.