INDIANAPOLIS —The United States federal government is suing Celadon, claiming that the trucking company illegally forced job applicants to take medical examinations and didn't hire those it perceived as being disabled, according to reports from various media.

Celadon CEO Steve Russell said the Department of Transportation (DOT) "has very specific requirements for the physical health and safety of drivers. We bring them (applicants) in from around the country, and part of their orientation is to give them a physical in the clinic here at our facility."

Celadon's president and CEO, Paul Will, said that they only rejected drivers who didn't meet DOT standards.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed the lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of 16 potential employees.

The suit claims that Celadon violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. It says the applicants who were rejected were qualified and met DOT requirements. An attorney for EEOC said that the rejected applicants were all "physically capable of driving a truck."

The suit alleges that Celadon required applicants to take medical examinations aimed at detecting disabilities, and rejected those it perceived as having disabilities including impaired hearing and cardiovascular conditions.

"We're not hiring them because of the fact that they cannot hear or have a loss of hearing," said Will. "We're not hiring them because the DOT tells us they cannot be hired."

He said drivers would be hired if they remedied the conditions that caused their rejection, for example, by wearing a hearing aid.

However, the suit alleges that one driver with a blood clot was rejected despite his taking a blood thinner to treat his condition.