EEOC Sues Golding Barge Line for Disability Discrimination

JACKSON, Miss. - Golding Barge Line, Inc., an inland towboat and barge company in Vicksburg, Mississippi, violated federal law when it rescinded a job offer for an individual who applied for work as a deckhand on the basis of disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, the company rescinded the offer because of the results of the applicant's pre-employment color vision test. The agency alleged that the company rescinded the offer despite the fact that color vision was not an essential function of the position the applicant sought.

"Employers cannot screen out applicants for physical requirements that have no relation to the job in question," said acting EEOC Birmingham District Director Linda Sales-Long. "Such unjustified requirements amount to illegal disability discrimination."

This alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, which guarantees equal employment opportunity for qualified individuals regardless of disability. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Golding Barge Line, Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-00450-CWR-ASH) in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

EEOC Birmingham District Regional Attorney Marsha Rucker said, "The ADA protects a job applicant's opportunity to be considered on the basis of their merit. When an employer rejects a qualified applicant on the basis of a perceived disability, the EEOC stands ready to enforce the law."

For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination .

The EEOC's Birmingham District Office has jurisdiction over Alabama, Mississippi (except for 17 northern counties) and the Florida Panhandle.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government's employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .