UPS Vision Decision Has ‘Limited’ Effect on Industry

United Parcel Service (UPS) cannot maintain a companywide policy against hiring truckers with monocular vision to drive trucks under 10,000 pounds, according to a Dec. 12 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The ruling does not require UPS to hire drivers with vision in just one eye. However, it does require the company to consider them for driver positions.

The case applies only to drivers who do not fall under Department of Transportation rules or who drive trucks weighing less than 10,000 pounds, said Kenneth E. Siegel, an attorney with Barnes and Thornburg in Washington D.C. Siegel called the ruling’s applicability to the trucking industry “limited.”

The decision stems from a 1977 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit filed against UPS under the Americans With Disabilities Act on behalf of drivers with monocular vision. The drivers claimed they were qualified to drive for the Atlanta-based package delivery company.

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