Jury awards $237 million to fired UPS worker in racial discrimination lawsuit

A jury in Yakima has awarded a former United Parcel Service driver more than $237 million dollars in damages for suffering on-the-job discrimination and being subject to a hostile work environment.

One attorney representing the man believes it could be the largest award of its kind in Washington state.

Bloomberg reports the verdict reached in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington on Thursday awards Tahvio Gratton $39.6 million for emotional distress and another $198 million in punitive damages.

Gratton, who is black, claimed he was frequently laid off in favor of white drivers with less seniority, was repeatedly called “boy” by a supervisor, and was given less-desirable routes and trucks than others.

He was fired in 2021 following a sexual harassment allegation against him.

“We thank the jury for seeing the truth, vindicating our client’s rights, and sending a powerful message to UPS that our communities will not tolerate racial discrimination, harassment, or retaliation against the victims of discrimination and harassment,” Attorney Dustin Collier, one of the lawyers who represented Gratton, told Bloomberg News.

After the company fired Gratton in October 2022, he filed a lawsuit.

This was after previous grievances he had filed in 2018, 2020, and 2021. The complaints alleged racial discrimination and other workplace mistreatment.

Gratton said a sexual harassment allegation against him led to his firing in 2021.

He said he was accused of deliberately touching a female employee’s back.  UPS alleged Gratton touched another employee’s hip while she was bent over.

In April of this year, the company entered a motion requesting U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice declare a summary judgment.  That would have cleared the way for the parties to attempt mediation to seek a resolution.  But the judge denied the bid, and the case proceeded to trial.

At the time, the judge determined a reasonable jury could find Gratton had been fired simply for speaking out, and for arguing that UPS’s allegation that he assaulted a co-worker was pretextual.

UPS attorneys say the case will be appealed.

“We are disappointed with the jury’s decision, but respect the process and the deliberations of the jury,” said Glenn Zaccara, a spokesperson for UPS, who emailed a response to Bloomberg.

Zaccara said UPS intends to appeal the verdict based on a number of evidentiary and legal errors.

Zaccara said the company takes all the issues addressed in the lawsuit very seriously.  He added that UPS has retaliation prevention policies in place, and maintains its former driver was fired for an unprovoked assault on a female coworker.

Tom Brock is a weekend editor, reporter and anchor for KIRO Newsradio.