EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit Against UPS Settled for $2 Million

On August 8, 2017, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a press release announcing that its lawsuit against United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS), alleging disability discrimination claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has been settled for $2 million dollars. In that suit, the EEOC alleged that UPS maintained an "inflexible leave policy" by which disabled employees were automatically discharged if they were unable to return to work after exhausting the maximum 12 months of leave provided by the policy. Thus, according to the EEOC, UPS' policy effectively shut down the interactive process required by the ADA to determine whether additional reasonable accommodations were available to such persons.

The EEOC suit against UPS arose in part from the company's discharge of former employee, Trudi Momsen. During her employment, Ms. Momsen took a 12-month leave of absence from work due to a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. She returned to work at the conclusion of that 12-month leave, but shortly thereafter requested an additional two-week leave for medical reasons. UPS then terminated her for exceeding the 12-month leave policy. Based upon its investigation, the EEOC concluded that UPS' 12-month leave policy and its application to employees such as Ms. Momsen violated the reasonable accommodation and other provisions of the ADA. When conciliation efforts failed, the EEOC filed the lawsuit against UPS in the U.S. District Court in Chicago. The suit involved a class of nearly 90 current and former UPS employees whom the EEOC alleged were victims of UPS' employment practices.

In addition to $2 million dollars in monetary relief for the alleged victims of discrimination, the settlement reached between the EEOC and UPS provides for UPS to revise its...