Hauler pays $475,000 to settle sex discrimination suit

Feb. 18 -- Robertson Sanitation, a Phoenix-based waste management company that operates in Georgia, will pay $475,000 to settle a federal sex discrimination lawsuit.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accused Robertson of failing to hire Jeanine Moore, a woman who applied for a truck driver´s position at the company´s Winder, Ga., facility in August 2005. She was more qualified than a number of male applicants who were hired, according to the EEOC.

Investigation of Moore´s allegations revealed a class of similarly qualified women who, like Moore, were rejected despite their qualifications, according to the agency. The EEOC said the employer subjected female applicants to discriminatory hiring practices at the Winder facility as well as the Austell, Ga., facility.

The consent decree settling the lawsuit provides for $475,000 in monetary relief to the class of qualified female applicants who were discriminatorily rejected for employment between Jan. 1, 2005 and Oct. 31, 2006. Moore will receive $70,000 in damages while the remaining funds will be distributed among the other qualified claimants.

In addition to the monetary relief, Robertson Sanitation, a division of Republic Services of Georgia, has agreed to exercise good faith in offering employment to qualified female applicants for driver positions at the Winder and Austell facilities. According to the decree, "good faith will be measured against the standard of offering employment to at least 70% of the females in the qualified applicant pool."

The decree has a term of four years and requires Robertson to submit an annual report detailing hiring practices.