PAM Transport to pay nearly $500k in disability discrimination suits

PAM Transport (No. 54 in the CCJ top 250) was ordered recently by the Department of Labor to pay 12 former drivers nearly half a million dollars after it was determined that the carrier violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The carrier subjected its drivers to a medical clearance policy that required drivers to notify the company whenever they had contact with a medical professional, including routine physicals.

The DOL’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said the policy violated federal law and filed a lawsuit against the carrier following a failed attempt at a pre-litigation settlement.

The court subsequently ordered PAM to halt the policy in April 2012 and issued Feb. 26, 2015, an order ordered the carrier to pay $225,998 in back pay to the drivers, with interest. It also ordered the company to pay $49,114 in compensatory damages and $202,287 in punitive damages.