Training Policy Change At Prime Inc.

I'm trying to get on with Prime and I just got off the phone with a recruiter. As a female, I was concerned about the possibility of a lengthy wait after school for a female trainer (since Prime's policy, for a long time, has been that male trainers are not allowed to train female trainees, and vice versa).

According to my recruiter (Sheryl Lindsay), Prime recently changed this policy. Now, male trainers are allowed to work with female trainees. There's some paperwork that has to be signed beforehand, of course, to cover Prime's rear I assume. According to Ms. Lindsay, they got sued because someone cried harassment. So they changed their policy to same-sex trainers only. Then they recently got sued because they weren't training female drivers (obviously because of the lack of female trainers). So now they're changing it again.

Just thought I'd put this out there for those interested. Good to know.

Wow, that's fantastic news! That was a big problem with Prime - women basically couldn't get in there without waiting for months for a trainer. Glad to hear it.

Wow, that's fantastic news! That was a big problem with Prime - women basically couldn't get in there without waiting for months for a trainer. Glad to hear it.

A lot of companies are like that. I know of two other companies that have a same sex training policy only.

Dave

I know the disclaimer Prime is making females sign. Its the samething I had to sign years ago with another company and I am male. Basically it says that everything will be handled inside the company and that you have to go through the 'chain of command' when reporting inappropriate behavior and the issue if any will be handled internally and by signing the paper you are agreeing that there might be certain risk involved in a co-ed training truck,hopefully not, but you understand and accept the risk if anything were to happen while on the truck.

Prime is not the first company to do this nor will it be the last company. I understand why they are doing it. They are tired of the law suits even when they are trying to protect the female students from harassment. Now they are going to ensure they are not sued again by making everyone aware of what might and can happen in a truck and if something does happen that YOU relieve Prime of all responsibility and can not file a civil suit against Prime and you are aware that all actions that take place are solely the action and responsibility of the two parties in the truck and any actions filed will have to be done between the trainer and the trainee.

Know what the really sad thing is? That we have people in trucking that make us have this topic on the forums in the first place. Its a damn if you do...damn if you don't type of thing.

For those that got lost in my rambling basically Prime is removing its self from any legal action that might result from any sexual harassment that might take place in one of their trucks. Basically they are saying "We warned you so if something happens you can't blame us"

Well good for Prime. About time they step up and make people take a realistic look at self responsibility and what might or might not happen due to someone making a décision they were advised against.

Don't blame anyone but our sue happy nation.

Honestly, I applaud Prime for this. I have some pretty unsympathetic views about sexual harassment and I'm glad that Prime isn't having any of that BS anymore. If I'm working with a male trainer and he makes me uncomfortable, I'll ask for a new trainer. End of problem, and nobody needs to be sued. I was really not happy about the possibility of either, a.) having to wait months for a female trainer to become available or, b.) choose another company simply because people can't be trusted to keep it in their pants. Bah. I just wait to drive. :)

I know stuff can and does happen on the road but honestly the worst thing that happens are a few comments or maybe a few names being called. Have to remember that there is only about 14% of the industry is female. With that many men in one industry the best example I could give is....a typical bad "B" movie from the '80s where a woman walks past an all male construction site and there are whistles and cat calls and a few comments. Its rarely anything more than that.

The enforceability of those type of waivers is always questionable. Just a word of advise to women in trucking... if you went to Prime, or any other company, and a male trainer actually harassed you, do not think that because you signed the waiver you are without legal remedy. I am not saying go sue happy and sue Prime (or whichever company), but consider your options and talk to an attorney.

The enforceability of those type of waivers is always questionable. Just a word of advise to women in trucking... if you went to Prime, or any other company, and a male trainer actually harassed you, do not think that because you signed the waiver you are without legal remedy. I am not saying go sue happy and sue Prime (or whichever company), but consider your options and talk to an attorney.

Yeah it is not always black and white. There is always a grey area when it comes to these type of things. But the main thing to remember is Prime and I am sure other companies do give fair warning about what might happen in a truck or on the road therefore making you fully aware and giving you all the responsibility to make an informed decision.

Basically with the signing of the waiver it just gives company lawyers more ammo to help fight any lawsuits that come about. Its a pretty strong weapon in most cases due to the fact that you are signing and stating that you know the risk involved and accept them....

Thats not to say that you are giving up your rights of equal protection but it just makes it harder to assign blame in case something does happen.

Yeah I am also skeptical of the sue happy females who cry sexual harassment at the drop of a hat. But then again, REAL sexual harassment does happen sometimes. Just be careful and use your common sense!

I wonder why they didn't have the male AND female trainers sign a binding contract, that would hold them atleast partly liable for any portion of any financial payout from a court decision. For the few bad ones in every company, that would make em think a little. Those kind of clauses should ALWAYS go both ways. It would give the company a little more assurance that things won't be goin' on. Just MHO.