A case involving a United Parcel Service policy of excluding hearing-impaired applicants for “package-car driver” positions has been settled between the company and drivers involved in the suit.

UPS had excluded driver candidates if they could not pass the U.S. Dept. of Transportation hearing standard, even though the vehicles operated by the drivers were not covered by the DOT rules. UPS argued that the hearing-impaired drivers were not “qualified individuals” because they could not meet the company’s requirement to pass the DOT hearing standard, and thus could not meet an essential function of the job, which was DOT certification to drive all commercial vehicles. In 2007, the Ninth Circuit remanded the case, Bates v. United Parcel Service, to a lower court for analysis under a business necessity framework: since UPS linked hearing with safe driving, it bore the burden to prove that as part of its defense to use the hearing qualification standard, the Ninth Circuit ruled.

The settlement agreement provides that UPS will establish a one-year pilot Hearing Protocol for drivers and applicants who do not meet the DOT hearing standard, after which the company will meet with the parties to evaluate how the protocol is working. Under the protocol, drivers with hearing impairments will be individually assessed upon their request to determine their ability to safely operate UPS vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less. Bates v. UPS Settlement Agreement