Wyoming trucking company pays $124,000 to settle sexual harassment suit

According to the EEOC complaint, which was filed on Sept. 30, 2024, Waller’s Trucking hired Lizabeth Porter as a truck driver in February 2017, and she was directly supervised by Norman Waller. The company hauls oilfield equipment.

“[Norman] Waller began to sexually harass Porter soon after she started her employment,” the complaint states. “Waller subjected her to near-daily inappropriate, unwelcome and offensive sexual comments and conduct.”

He also frequently made sexually harassing comments in front of Porter’s colleagues and other drivers, in person, and over the company’s CB radio, FreightWaves previously reported in an article about the EEOC lawsuit against Waller’s Trucking.

Read related article here: Wyoming trucking company faces EEOC lawsuit alleging sexual harassment

The suit alleged that Waller made the following comments, among others:

• “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.”

Court filings stated that Waller made sexual propositions toward Porter, including saying he would cut a hole in the wall if they did not have adjoining rooms when working as team drivers and asked her for a good morning kiss. Porter claimed that she feared for her safety and took some of Waller’s comments as sexual threats.

According to the suit, Waller publicly referred to Porter as a “lot lizard” in a June 2019 company safety meeting, which is a derogatory term for a sex worker found at truck stops.

On more than one occasion, Waller’s behavior prompted a male employee to speak up for Porter, stating that he couldn’t speak to her in a sexually harassing manner, the suit claims. However, Waller allegedly replied, “I’m 72 years old. I can say whatever the hell.” 

He is now 77 years old.

Despite receiving complaints and having knowledge of Waller’s sexually inappropriate conduct, “[Waller’s Trucking] failed to take adequate actions to stop, prevent or remedy the sexual harassment of Porter and other aggrieved female employees,” according to the EEOC suit. 

Court filings stated that when Porter reported the incidents to Waller’s wife, Paulette Waller, who served as treasurer, secretary and human resources representative for the small trucking company, she “simply laughed.”
Porter quit her job in September 2019, according to court documents, when she asked for the day off to attend her teenage daughter’s graduation from a trade school. In response, Norman Waller messaged Porter, asking her how much he should include as a gift in a card to her daughter, adding that he would send her daughter a lace nightgown as a gift but would probably “get the pee slapped out of me,” the suit says.
The EEOC complaint states that Porter replied to Waller’s text message with a message stating, “I will endure your unsolicited sexual remarks and advances no longer. I quit.”
Waller didn’t deny sending Porter the text messages in his response to the EEOC suit, according to court filings.

Second victim comes forward

Another female employee, who was not named in court filings, also accused Norman Waller of sexual harassment. The suit claimed that he instructed her, along with other female employees, to “wear booby shirts to attract more business.” 

After the female employee spoke with Waller in private – and on another occasion publicly – about the alleged sexual harassment, she claimed that Waller scheduled her for half as many shifts as other workers at Waller’s Trucking. She quit her job in October 2019. 

Waller’s Trucking has 10 power units and six drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website. The company’s contract carrier authority was originally granted in April 1997 but was involuntarily revoked in December 2000. FMCSA data stated that its contract carrier authority was reinstated in May 2005 and revoked again in January 2010 before being reinstated later that month. 

As part of the settlement, Waller’s Trucking also agreed to provide the EEOC with periodic reports regarding any future complaints of sexual harassment or retaliation, including a description of each employee’s allegations and the company’s response.

“The EEOC welcomes the opportunity to work with employers who seek to ensure their workers are free from a sexually hostile work environment,” O’Neill said. 

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