A jury has awarded $5.3 million to eight black men on Thursday from a lawsuit against UPS that has discrimination claims. The men specifically claimed that they had to endure a hostile work environment at UPS in Lexington, Kentucky.
In a report by USA Today, the men also detailed that a dummy of a black UPS driver was hung from a ceiling. A Fayette County Circuit Court jury found out that UPS discriminated one of the eight men. The company also struck at two of the eight men after complaining about how they were being treated.
The jury awarded $1.5 million to William Barber for emotional and mental distress, $1 million to David Young, $810,000 to Glen Jackson, $800,000 to John Hughes, $500,000 each to Jeffrey Goree and Donald Ragland, $100,000 each to Curtis Weathers as well as Lamont Brown.
The suit was filed in 2014. A UPS spokeswoman claimed that the dummy was part of a safety training for their drivers. She pointed out that the dummy was not intended to offend anyone, The Dispatch reported. However, the claim says that the effigy was hung for four days and that a UPS manager made the dummy.
Aside from the dummy, Luke Morgan, one of the lawyers of one of the plaintiffs, said that racially hostile words were also used in the workplace. Accordingly, Barber, Goree, Hughes, Young, and Weathers continued to work for UPS while the dispute went through the courts.
UPS voiced their disappointment regarding the outcome and they said they are considering appeal options. Susan Rosenberg, spokeswoman at corporate headquarters in Atlanta, said in a statement that UPS has strict policies against harassment and discrimination, noting that they reinforce such. She added, "There's no retaliation if employees raise concerns," ABC News reported.
As for the other men who continued to work with the company despite the lawsuit, she said that the company values their experience, performance, and their attention to service.
