The United States Parcel Service (UPS) employs individuals throughout the United States, and the company is required by law to provide those employees with a workplace that is free of discrimination and harassment. However, in a recent lawsuit, eight plaintiffs claimed that they had been treated poorly by UPS after they reported instances of workplace discrimination against black employees in another state. According to the lawsuit, black employees suffered from more severe infractions as compared to white employees. Although this case was filed in another state, many workers in Florida find themselves dealing with workplace discrimination issues every day.
The inequality relating to the dispensation of infractions was not the only example of racial discrimination brought forward by the plaintiffs in this case against UPS. The discrimination claims also stated that a human figure made to look like a black employee had hung in front of a UPS manager’s office. Allegedly, the figure hung there for a period of four days before it was finally taken down.
In response to the claims, a spokesperson for UPS stated that the corporation is in the process of handling the employees’ complaints. The UPS representative says that her company has taken the complaints seriously and has investigated each of them. At this time, the employees have not specified the level and extent of financial damages they are claiming in their lawsuit.
Workplace discrimination is not only unlawful in Florida, but those who are victimized by this kind of abuse may have strong claims for damages in court. When successfully navigated, discrimination claims can be a way for victims to seek financial restitution for the damages that stemmed from that abuse. While each case is different, pursuable damages in such cases could include compensation for lost wages, money for lost opportunities, restitution for pain and suffering and other types of damages. In some cases, victims may even try to pursue punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and litigation costs.
Source: justicenewsflash.com, “Racial discrimination lawsuit filed against UPS in Kentucky“, , June 14, 2014