Former FedEx
Employee Wins ADA Award Appeal
[Posted 01/29/2008]
A
federal appellate court has upheld a $108,000 jury
award to a deaf former FedEx package handler who did
not receive proper accommodations for his disability
according to federal law. The 4th US Circuit Court
of Appeals turned aside FedEx’s contentions that the
punitive damages were too high and that its managers
had put forward a good-faith effort to comply with
the federal law.
The
court ruled that, based on the evidence produced at
the trial of Ronald Lockhart’s suit alleging
violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA),
“the
jury was thus entitled to find that FedEx higher
management officials had acted reprehensibly with
respect to Lockhart’s need for ADA accommodations.”
This decision upheld a lower court ruling by US
District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. of the US
District Court for the District of Maryland that
awarded Lockhart $8,000 in compensatory damages and
a $100,000 punitive damage total.
Writing for the court, Circuit Judge Robert King
said FedEx was accused of ADA violations for not
providing Lockhart a sign-language interpreter at
employee meetings and training sessions, including
sessions after September 11, 2001 about stepped-up
security measures and potential anthrax exposure.
Lockhart worked at the FedEx facility at
Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
“Although
Lockhart suffered no physical harm from the actions
complained of, his supervisors at FedEx were
plainly indifferent to the fact that their failure
to accommodate his disability could jeopardize his
safety, and potentially implicate the safety of
others,”
King wrote.
“Because
Lockhart was denied the ADA accommodations…he
consistently missed updates about important
subjects such as workplace safety, handling
dangerous goods, interpreting hazardous labels, and
potential anthrax exposure. Finally, Lockhart’s
supervisors were familiar with the mandate of the
ADA and perceived the risk that their conduct was
unlawful.”
Related Links:
4th Circuit Ruling
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