The owner of Waller’s Trucking Company, based in Big Piney, Wyoming, is facing a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over allegations of sexual harassment involving multiple female employees, including truck drivers, Freight Waves reports.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Wyoming on Monday, accuses company owner Norman Waller of repeatedly subjecting female employees to inappropriate sexual comments and behavior over a period of years.
According to the lawsuit, one female driver, hired in February 2017, experienced near-daily sexual harassment from Waller. The allegations state that Waller made numerous inappropriate comments to the driver, often in front of other employees and truck drivers, both in person and over the company’s inter-truck CB radio system.
Some of the reported comments included:
“Too bad you’re not wearing a skirt with no panties.”
“Make sure you wear a tank top so your boobies show.”
“You need to wear booby shirts so I can get more business.”
Waller also allegedly made sexual propositions to the driver, including saying he would cut a hole in the wall if their hotel rooms were not adjoining during overnight jobs, and asked her for a good morning kiss. The driver, who felt unsafe and interpreted some of Waller’s comments as sexual threats, eventually left her job.
The lawsuit further details that in 2018, Waller gave the driver a vibrating toothbrush, telling her she could use it on any part of her body. The following year, he reportedly called her a “lot lizard,” a derogatory term for a sex worker, during a meeting. A male employee spoke up in defense of the female driver, according to the lawsuit, but the harassment continued.
When the driver reported the incidents to Waller’s wife, who served as the company’s human resources representative, her concerns were allegedly dismissed with laughter. The driver ultimately quit after being denied time off to attend her daughter’s graduation. In response to the time-off request, Waller allegedly joked that he would send the driver’s daughter a lace nightgown as a gift, but feared he would “get the pee slapped out of me.”
The lawsuit also describes the harassment of another female employee, who was told to “wear booby shirts” and “dress sexy” by Waller. He also allegedly commented on her breasts and asked to see them. After she publicly complained about the harassment, Waller reduced her work shifts. She left the company in October 2019.
EEOC Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill of the Phoenix District Office emphasized in a statement that federal law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace, regardless of the position of the offender. She stated that the EEOC is committed to pursuing such cases to ensure employers uphold their legal obligations to protect employees from harassment.
The female driver involved in the lawsuit is seeking back pay and other unspecified damages as part of the legal action. Norman Waller has not yet responded to inquiries regarding the lawsuit.
