Jon Allison’s Monday Blog
Last Thursday a Fayette County, Kentucky jury awarded eight African-American men $5.3 million dollars in a hostile work environment case against UPS. The plaintiffs worked for UPS in Lexington, Kentucky. At trial, evidence was presented that the plaintiffs were routinely subjected to racist comments, including the n-word, jungle bunny and porch monkey. Evidence was presented that an effigy of an African-American UPS driver was hung from the ceiling for four days. The men went to Human Resources several times to complain but things did not improve. Instead, for some, things got worse. The jury found that UPS retaliated against 2 drivers who complained by having managers conduct extended “ride alongs” as a subtle form of intimidation. The lawsuit was filed in 2014. Trial began April 4, 2016. The jury deliberated about 8 hours before rendering the verdict against UPS.
