In an era where inclusivity should be a given, it is disheartening to witness drastic violations of employees’ rights, particularly those who are differently-abled. Employees employed by FedEx, a globally recognized shipping and logistics company, found themselves unemployed due to the corporation’s stringent 100 %-healed policy.
The story that stands out in this murky tide of exploitation is the tale of a Minneapolis-based FedEx driver. The unnamed woman who motivated the launch of a lawsuit against her employer had been subjected to unfair treatment due to medical restrictions. Her job as a ramp transport driver involved driving a tractor-trailer and operating mechanical equipment to load and unload freight. An injury had limited her lifting abilities, invoking FedEx’s 100 %-healed policy. The policy forced the ramp transport driver into a 90-day temporary light-duty assignment. When her medical restrictions remained after 90 days, she was placed on unpaid medical leave. FedEx ultimately terminated her employment due to her inability to work without restrictions – a harsh reality for someone who could have done her job with reasonable accommodations.
According to Gregory Gochanour, of the EEOC’s Chicago District Office, “100%-healed policies, like the one FedEx has, cost qualified workers their livelihood without giving them individual consideration.” He further added, “Under the ADA, employers have an obligation to explore reasonable accommodations and not to screen out qualified individuals with disabilities who can do their jobs.”
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The act prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities, mandates employers to provide reasonable accommodations enabling employees to perform their jobs, and bars employers from policies that screen out qualified individuals with disabilities.
To FedEx employees and others stuck in similar situations, know that you are not alone and your struggles are valid. The “100 %-healed” policy that cost you your employment directly violates the ADA, a federal law enacted to provide you with rightful protection and accommodation. Don’t let corporations like FedEx undermine your rights.
Fellow workers, you are invited to step up, speak out, and report such ADA violations. Please reach out to an experienced Disability Discrimination Attorney who can help you navigate this legal terrain and ensure that your rights are upheld. Stand tall against discrimination. Remember, no one can strip you of your rightful place in your workspace, let alone your inherent dignity.
I’m a person with disabilities who was terminated by my employer because of my disability. Even though my former employer approved my accommodations he terminated me 8 days later. I was never treated with respect by my coworkers and never trained properly. I made several complaints about the work environment being unsafe and the bathrooms were not ADA compliant. I still can’t believe that I was treated with a lack of respect. I did hire an ADA attorney to fight for my rights and I hope many will do the same.
Hi Mr. Spruill! If you’d like an attorney to take a look at your case, feel free to fill out the form at https://www.helmerfriedman.com/contact/. We’re here to help!
I am a victim of breast cancer “disability discrimination and failure to accommodate under the ADA by FedEx Corporation. FedEx is a major corporation with its own Legal Department and failed to comply with the well-established ADA laws and discriminated against a qualified employee with a known disability. Sharing my cancer diagnosis with my boss, Karen Galambos, was the biggest mistake of my life. Although Karen was the Staff Vice President of the Human Resources department that handled FMLA requests, she did not recognize my request for accommodation, and she did not treat my breast cancer as a disability that was protected by the ADA. Instead of engaging in the mandatory interactive process to accommodate my disability, FedEx retaliated and unlawfully terminated my long-term (26 years) employment.
The facts are that breast cancer is a disability as defined by the ADA §12112(a) that is protected from FMLA Interference §2615(a)(1) and FMLA Retaliation §2615(a)(2). FedEx failed to engage in the mandatory “interactive process” to accommodate my known disability. 42 U.S.C. §12112(b)(5)(A). It is FedEx’s responsibility to know its obligations under the ADA. See Mary Yanick v. The Kroger Co. of Mich., No. 21-11582 (E.D. Mich. Apr. 20, 2023). It is an employer’s duty to initiate the “interactive process” without a request for accommodation from the employee.
Unfortunately, for the past six years I find myself, a prudent person, being vilified and forced to vindicate my civil rights under the well-established ADA laws because of ADA and FMLA violations at FedEx’s “Human Resources Staff Vice President level .”
FedEx know the laws surrounding the ADA. However, FedEx has created a workplace culture that continuously enable unlawful discrimination and the failure to accommodate qualified employees with known disabilities, in violation of the ADA. See Wallace v. FedEx Corp., 764 F.3d 571, 590 (6th Cir. 2014); Hubbell v. FedEx SmartPost, Inc., No. 18-1727 (6th Cir. 2019); Cayetano v. Federal Express Corporation (1:19-cv-10619); EEOC v. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., No. 2:15-cv-00256 (W.D. Pa. May 18, 2020); Goldstine v. FedEx Freight Inc., CASE NO. C18-1164 MJP (W.D. Wash. Aug. 17, 2020); Harold Carter v. Federal Express Corporation, et al (2:17-cv-04057). FedEx actively engages in discrimination from the top of the corporate structure on down, so much as to promote an organization of workplace discrimination and is good at hiding it.
Dear Brenda,
This sounds like a horrible experience and after 26 years. If you would like to consult with one of our amazing employment law attorneys please complete the questionnaire at
https://www.helmerfriedman.com/retaliation-case-questionnaire/.