Trump administration could sideline female truckers’ anti-harassment agenda

WASHINGTON – Policies aimed at protecting and elevating women in the trucking industry will face tough new scrutiny by the incoming Trump administration.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sent to Congress on Friday its status report on recommendations made by the Women of Trucking Advisory Board (WOTAB). The panel was created during the Biden administration to help recruit and retain women as owner-operators and within the ranks of trucking companies, with a focus on eradicating sexual harassment and violence against women – particularly drivers – in the industry.

After a year of meetings, the panel hammered out a list of recommendations that the FMCSA could use to help achieve those goals. That led to the agency’s plans for an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) “regarding ways FMCSA can enhance the physical safety of women truck drivers and trainees and address the negative impacts of workplace sexual harassment, among other challenges,” the agency stated in the report sent to Congress.

The ANPRM, “Minimum Training Requirements for Entry-Level Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators and Additional Curriculum and Training Provider Requirements,” was scheduled to be issued in December.

But on Monday – just days after FMCSA sent Congress the status report – President Donald Trump issued a regulatory freeze order barring all executive departments and agencies from proposing or issuing a rule “until a department or agency head appointed or designated by the President … reviews and approves the rule.”

While the Office of Management and Budget can exempt rules subject to statutory or judicial deadlines that require prompt action, according to presidential action, FMCSA’s ANPRM is not such a rule.

That means the proposed rulemaking could be placed – along with other regulations affecting the trucking industry, like speed limiters and broker contracts – on the agency’s back burner indefinitely.

The Biden administration took a number of steps to address harassment against women and others within the industry, including a 104-page “Crime Prevention for Truckers Study” released in November 2022. The report was criticized by a WOTAB panel member, contending that it downplayed the seriousness of rape in the trucking industry.

In 2023, Biden’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued new guidelines aimed at cracking down on workplace harassment, which saw potential by women and minorities in trucking to provide them more leverage in fighting back against bad-actor carriers.

Later that year, FMCSA, under Administrator Robin Hutcheson, issued a new policy statement aimed at addressing sexual assault within the industry.

Building on that policy, FMCSA began planning a study in 2024 to better understand the scope of sexual assault and sexual harassment (SASH) throughout trucking.

“The study will expand upon FMCSA’s previous research and promote a deeper understanding of SASH data and issues by following the best practices in SASH methodology related to sample size and design, including categories of gender, sexual orientation and ethnicity to determine the prevalence of SASH and identifying resources for victims,” FMCSA stated in its report to Congress on Friday.

In addition to taking on crime and sexual harassment, WOTAB’s recommendations included addressing the promotion of women within the trucking industry and barriers to paying fair wages.