The Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit this week that accuses a Missouri trucking company of refusing to hire a truck driver because of his deafness.

The EEOC filed suit against Wilson Logistics in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina on July 31 for allegedly violating the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) by refusing to hire a truck driver because of his deafness.

From the EEOC:

He possessed a commercial driver’s license, had relevant experience and had been granted an exemption from regulatory hearing requirements by the U.S. Department of Transportation. When the applicant spoke to Wilson through a video relay service, the company’s representative told him he could not bring somebody in who does not read, write, and speak English. He further told him the company does not hire individuals who communicate through sign language.

“An employer cannot refuse to consider a job applicant because of a disability without conducting an individualized inquiry,” said Melinda C. Dugas, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District. “The EEOC will continue to litigate cases in which qualified individuals with disabilities are summarily dismissed from the application process.”

In 1971, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) established the following hearing requirements for commercial drivers:

“…a person is physically qualified to drive a CMV if that person first perceives a forced whispered voice in the better ear at not less than 5 feet with or without the use of a hearing aid or, if tested by use of an audiometric device, does not have an average hearing loss in the better ear greater than 40 decibels at 500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, and 2,000 Hz with or without a hearing aid when the audiometric device is calibrated to American National Standard.“

The FMCSA provides exemptions to allow deaf or hard of hearing people to operate commercial vehicles on a case-by-case basis.