Image via Meathead Movers Facebook page

A San Luis Obispo-based moving business with a longtime Fresno division is facing an age discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Meathead Movers, the largest independent moving company in California with 320 employees, is accused of refusing to hire people based on age, the federal agency announced in September.

Meathead Movers opened its Fresno office in 2015.

The EEOC’s lawsuit charges that since at least 2017, Meathead Movers failed to recruit and hire applicants over 40 into moving, packing and customer service positions. Meathead maintains a pattern or practice of recruiting and hiring young college students, intentionally excluding older workers regardless of their individual abilities, the EEOC complaint continues.

“Excluding older workers based on their age for marketing purposes is unlawful,” said Anna Park, regional attorney for the EEOC Los Angeles District Office. “Employers should remember that setting criteria and recruiting based on a person’s age violates federal law.”

 

Started in 1997 while the founders were still in high school, Meathead Movers began as a way for student athletes to work while meeting their academic and sports obligations. But Aaron Steed, CEO of Meathead Movers, told Fox Business host Stuart Varney last week that his business does not discriminate against anybody, and that he does employ people over age 40.

He said Meathead Movers only hires applicants who can meet the requirements of the job.

The lawsuit has made international headlines, with additional coverage in the Wall Street Journal, Daily Mail and New York Post.

Steed called the lawsuit an example of government overreach, pointing out that there was no actual complainant in the suit filed by the EEOC.

Steed said the EEOC sought to levy a $15 million penalty, adding that if the EEOC is successful in its lawsuit it would put Meathead Movers out of business.

Steed, who has been active in supporting local organizations such as the Marjaree Mason Center helping victims of domestic violence move for free, has set up a GoFundMe page to fund a legal defense.

It had raised nearly $19,000 of its $500,000 fundraising goal as of Monday afternoon.