United Parcel Service to Pay $150,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS), will pay $150,000 and provide other relief, including offering reinstatement to a discharged employee with diabetes, the U.S. Equal Employ­ment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today.

According to the EEOC’s suit, the employee asked a human resources representative for the accommodation of an occasional short break to check his blood sugar and eat or drink something if necessary. After initially agreeing to the request, the HR rep later told him that UPS could not grant the accommodation, and then fired him, the EEOC said.

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division (EEOC v. United Parcel Service, Inc., Case No. 3:21-cv-00656-BJD-JRK) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settle­ment through its conciliation process.

On March 15, the court entered an order that UPS had indeed violated the ADA. Having determined liability, the court directed the parties to meet and confer to resolve the remaining issues. In accordance with the court’s order, the parties were able to agree on the $150,000 in monetary relief and a three-year consent decree which requires UPS to maintain an employee hotline; provide live training to human resources personnel, supervisors, managers, and directors, provide three short trainings to bargaining-unit employees per year; and post a notice about the lawsuit. The decree also requires UPS to provide the EEOC with reports of any complaints of disability discrimination and/or failure to accommodate and to describe the resolution of each such complaint.

“We commend UPS for working collaboratively with the EEOC to resolve the remaining issues in this lawsuit,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Robert Weisberg. “The company’s willingness to address the EEOC’s concerns and its agreement to implement preventative measures and train management and human resources personnel without additional litigation will benefit its workers and the company.”

EEOC Miami District Director Evangeline Hawthorne added, “Many employees require accommodations that will allow them to work. The commitment by UPS to address this problem by taking strong, affirmative measures will help ensure equal opportunity for employees.”

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

The Miami District Office’s jurisdiction includes Florida, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.

EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.