A San Luis Obispo-based moving company has agreed to settle a years-long age discrimination lawsuit, costing the company millions of dollars, court documents show.
Meathead Movers was founded in 1997 by two brothers in high school. It labels itself as the largest independent moving company in California, employing around 700 people throughout the state and handling more than 18,000 moves every year.
The company has been facing a legal battle with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission since 2017 over alleged age discrimination.
In 2023, the storage and moving company was sued by the EEOC, which claimed Meathead “failed to recruit and hire applicants over 40 into moving, packing and customer service positions.”
The EEOC explained in a civil complaint that since 2017, Meathead Movers was "exclusively depicting young individuals in Meathead Movers marketing, recruitment, and training materials online, including on its website, social media, physical merchandise, and posters in Meathead Movers’ physical workplaces."
Meathead Movers CEO Aaron Steed disagreed with the allegations, telling KSBY earlier this year, “It's always been, can you do the job or not?... We don't care what you look like, how old you are. It's all about can you work up to the Meathead job standard?”
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No current or former employees had filed age discrimination claims against Meathead Movers to the EEOC at the time the lawsuit was filed.
A proposed consent decree, which is a court-ordered settlement agreement that resolves disputes between two parties but does not require either to admit guilt or liability, was filed Monday in the United States District Court Central District of California. It shows Meathead Movers has agreed to pay up to $6 million dollars; $4 million for an "Instatement Fund" over four years to hire workers, plus $2 million for a "Class Fund" for monetary relief to “eligible claimants.” Some fees will be reduced if paid by specific dates.
Among other things, Meathead is also required to send a list of applicants who sought employment with Meathead Movers and staffing agencies used by Meathead since 2017. The EEOC will handle assessment and distribution of settlement funds to anyone determined to have a viable claim, according to the consent decree.
“We are pleased to have resolved this case without any admission of wrongdoing, allowing us to return our full attention to what we do best: supporting our employees and serving our customers. We appreciate the new administration’s constructive approach in reaching this resolution. We remain committed to building a workplace that reflects our values of hard work, integrity, and giving back, and look forward to working in good faith with the EEOC to continue to hire the very best team we can, regardless of their age or anything else,” Steed told KSBY.
The EEOC has not replied to KSBY’s request on Wednesday for comment. Regarding the company’s hiring practices, Steed says, “We’ve always been committed to doing things the right way, and that won’t change. We’re always looking for ways to improve, and we’re committed to fair, inclusive hiring. we’ll work with the monitor and the EEOC to ensure our practices are the best they can be. Our focus remains on hiring the most qualified people for the job, and we don’t anticipate any major changes that would be noticeable to our customers or applicants.”
Steed added, “Resolving this case allows us to focus on our business and our people, and we’re optimistic about the future. Like many small businesses, we faced significant legal expenses, but we’re glad to put this behind us and move forward.”
