Company Ordered to Pay Punitive Damages After Manager Denied ADA Training 03-05-2008
- By Rita Risser, attorney at law

FedEx hired a deaf employee for its ramp operations. The employee so wanted the job that he brought a friend to the interview and orientation to interpret for him. After he was hired, he was able to do all aspects of his job without interpretation. Despite that, the Senior Operations Manager asked the boss why he had hired a deaf employee.

The employee was also required to attend meetings and training sessions including daily briefings, monthly meetings of up to two hours, plus quarterly meetings and 26 training sessions over the course of three years. These mandatory meetings addressed essential topics for employees such as workplace safety, job training, and employee benefits.

The employee repeatedly asked for an ASL interpreter for these meetings, and repeatedly was denied. On multiple occasions, he asked his supervisors for complete notes from the daily briefings, and this, too, was denied. As a result, he was "unable to understand what [was] going on in the meetings" and training sessions.

The Senior Operations Manager had received training in ADA compliance. The employee's immediate supervisor had not. The supervisor contacted various people in HR, in corporate headquarters and in the Legal Department requesting help. He also asked to go to ADA training. No one gave him any assistance and his request for training was denied.

The employee went to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission which attempted to reach a settlement with FedEx. When that was unsuccessful, the EEOC sued. A jury awarded both compensatory and punitive damages, and FedEx appealed. On appeal, the court held that the company had failed to accommodate, and that it was liable for punitive damages because it did not make good-faith efforts to comply with the law. The court stated that FedEx had acted "reprehensibly"and was "plainly indifferent to the fact that their failure to accommodate his disability could jeopardize his safety, and potentially implicate the safety of others."(EEOC v. Federal Express Corp., No. 06-1724 (4th Cir. Jan. 23, 2008))

What this means to you: Training is the "silver bullet"of punitive damages. When employers can show that managers and supervisors receive training, they are much more likely to dodge costly jury awards.

Fair Measures training - simply the best. Call 1-800-458-2778.

 

Information here is correct at the time it is posted. Case decisions cited here may be reversed. Please do not rely on this information without consulting an attorney first.