Two logistics and distribution companies will pay a combined $2 million to settle federal employment discrimination cases involving allegations that women and other applicants were denied jobs based on sex, race or national origin.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Monday that Birchstone Management, a Dallas-based warehousing and logistics management company, agreed to pay $500,000 after an investigation found the company rejected qualified women seeking pallet repair jobs.

The settlement comes less than two weeks after the EEOC announced Denver-based Mile Hi Companies would pay $1.5 million to resolve a federal lawsuit alleging discriminatory hiring practices involving Black, female and Afghan applicants.

For shippers and 3PLs reliant on warehouse labor in tight markets, the cases are a reminder that federal enforcement reaches deep into hourly hiring decisions at distribution sites — and that the cost of non-compliance now runs well into seven figures.

What did the EEOC find at Birchstone?

The EEOC said its investigation found that Birchstone turned away a qualified woman who applied for a pallet repairer position at the company's Spokane Valley, Washington, location solely because of her sex.

The agency said the practice extended beyond one applicant and one site. Since at least May 2020, Birchstone allegedly rejected other qualified female applicants for pallet repair jobs in Spokane Valley; Amarillo and Houston, Texas; Lakewood, Washington; and Las Vegas.

Instead, according to the EEOC, Birchstone hired men with similar or fewer qualifications or continued looking for male applicants.

"I showed up ready to demonstrate my ability to do the job, only to be told that the company only hires men," the applicant who filed the charge said in the EEOC announcement. "I hope this case helps employers stop labeling jobs as 'women's work' or 'men's work.'"

Birchstone agreed to provide $55,000 to the woman and establish a $445,000 settlement fund for other affected applicants.

The agreement resulted from the EEOC's pre-litigation conciliation process rather than a lawsuit.

Along with monetary relief, Birchstone must:

• Revise its hiring and recruitment policies
• Provide training to personnel involved in hiring at several locations
• Audit its employment recordkeeping annually
• Report to the EEOC for two years

How did the Mile Hi case unfold?

The Birchstone settlement follows a Sept. 25 announcement that Mile Hi Companies, a Denver-based distributor of food and paper products, agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle an EEOC lawsuit filed in 2024.

The allegations in that case extended beyond sex discrimination. The EEOC alleged Mile Hi denied employment opportunities to Black, female and Afghan applicants beginning in 2015.

According to the agency's lawsuit, the company's CEO directed employees to limit the percentage of Black applicants hired, not hire women for warehouse positions and stop hiring Afghan applicants for bakery jobs.

When the company's human resources manager opposed those directives, the EEOC alleged Mile Hi retaliated against her by harassing and eventually firing her.

The EEOC filed the lawsuit in September 2024 after the agency said efforts to reach a settlement through its administrative conciliation process were unsuccessful.

Under a three-year consent decree, Mile Hi must provide monetary relief to the former HR manager and affected applicants. The company also must review its employment policies, train employees and managers on anti-discrimination laws, maintain applicant records and periodically report its compliance efforts to the EEOC.

Why does this matter for freight and logistics hiring?

The cases come as the transportation industry continues to grapple with attracting and retaining women in jobs historically dominated by men.

A 2024 American Transportation Research Institute study found significant barriers for women entering and remaining in trucking, ranging from negative stereotypes and company culture to inadequate facilities and gender harassment.

ATRI surveyed nearly 1,500 current and former truck drivers and also conducted interviews and focus groups with drivers, motor carriers and truck-driving schools. Women accounted for roughly half of the driver survey respondents.

Women reported experiencing 11 of 12 problems examined by researchers more frequently than men. About 17% of female respondents said they encountered harassment or discrimination daily, roughly twice the rate reported by male drivers.

With the EEOC showing it will pursue both conciliated settlements and litigation against warehouse and distribution operators, logistics employers face rising compliance obligations — multiyear reporting, mandatory training and policy audits — alongside the direct financial cost, and agencies' attention to hourly freight hiring shows no sign of easing.