Judge Overturns $198M Award In UPS Discrimination Case

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

November 20, 2024

A federal judge slashed a $237 million award granted to Tahvio Gratton, a fired UPS employee who worked in Yakima, Washington.

A federal judge dismissed a $198 million punitive damages award previously granted to a fired UPS employee who had won a lawsuit for workplace discrimination and wrongful termination, calling it unreasonable.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice in Yakima, Washington, granted UPS’s request to reduce a $237.6 million jury award by dismissing the $198 million in punitive damages awarded to Tahvio Gratton, a former UPS employee, the New York Post reports.

Although the Nov. 15 decision does not affect the jury’s $39.6 million award for emotional distress, but UPS intends to ask for that also to be dismissed.

The company asserts that Gratton was terminated from his position as a Yakima driver for UPS following an investigation into allegations that he inappropriately touched a female employee on a loading dock.

Gratton, who worked for UPS from September 2016 until his dismissal in October 2021, alleges he was subjected to discriminatory treatment because he is Black. He claims his firing occurred only after he filed complaints about the mistreatment. Gratton contends that UPS used the loading dock incident—an event for which he says he apologized immediately—as a pretext to retaliate against him for speaking out about workplace issues.

Within his lawsuit, Gratton listed alleged examples of workplace discrimination, including not being given delivery routes despite being a full-time driver. At UPS, not being given a delivery route was considered a daily layoff. The lawsuit also cites a younger white manager who spent the day riding with Gratton and repeatedly called him “Boy.”

“Move faster, Boy, let’s go!” and “Boy, I told you to hurry!” the white manager said, according to the lawsuit. When Gratton asked him to stop, the manager said he was from the South and that’s how he talked.

A Foot Locker employee testified to witnessing the “shocking” encounter, stating that the manager was shouting and barking orders at Gratton, who was working quickly and efficiently, solely because he was Black. The testimony also noted that as Gratton filed more complaints about his mistreatment, his work assignments dwindled.

Gratton was eventually assigned to the mall route, widely regarded as one of the most challenging due to the need to handle large, time-consuming packages. He alleges that a manager attempted to have another driver bid for the mall route to push him out of work; the driver declined.

According to the lawsuit, when Gratton drove the mall route—the only one he was permitted—he was also assigned out-of-the-way stops that kept him working late into the evening. He claims he was repeatedly singled out over the loudspeaker and called into the office for discriminatory scrutiny, receiving warnings for visible tattoos and wearing a sweater—both of which were permitted for white drivers.

The lawsuit also claims that other Black employees faced discrimination, being assigned more difficult routes and then criticized for taking too long. One Black driver was reportedly forced to cut his hair after complaining about incorrect pay, while white drivers were allowed to wear their hair long.

On September 12, a jury awarded Gratton $237.6 million, determining that he had been discriminated against, retaliated against, and ultimately fired after filing complaints.

UPS announced on Monday that it intends to seek a new trial and overturn the rest of the verdict.

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