UPS worker is told he’s a ‘liability’ due to his diabetes — then gets fired, feds say

A newly hired UPS employee was fired after his first two shifts at a Florida warehouse because of his diabetes, according to a federal disability discrimination lawsuit.

He worked as a package handler “without any issues” — before a human resources supervisor told him “he was a liability to the company,” due to his disability, a complaint filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says.

The human resources representative refused the Jacksonville UPS employee’s request to take occasional short breaks to check his blood sugar and to have a snack or a drink if he needed one, according to the complaint.

She first granted the request, then ultimately denied it and fired the employee in a voicemail message left for him in September 2019, the complaint says.

The man has brittle diabetes, according to officials, which is rare. This form of diabetes is considered “hard-to-control” and unpredictable because blood glucose levels can rise and fall frequently, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders.

On March 15, the court found UPS violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to accommodate the employee and by firing him, according to the EEOC. The agency filed the lawsuit against UPS on the man’s behalf.

Now UPS will pay $150,000 to settle the lawsuit, the EEOC announced in a Dec. 22 news release.

McClatchy News contacted UPS and attorneys representing the company for comment on Dec. 26 and didn’t receive immediate responses.

“We commend UPS for working collaboratively with the EEOC to resolve the remaining issues in this lawsuit,” EEOC regional attorney Robert Weisberg said in a statement.

As part of the settlement, UPS will offer to reinstate the employee, according to officials.

Under a three-year consent decree, UPS is required to “maintain an employee hotline; provide live training to human resources personnel, supervisors, managers, and directors, provide three short trainings to bargaining-unit employees per year; and post a notice about the lawsuit,” officials said in the release.

UPS must also alert the EEOC to any disability discrimination complaints, according to the release.

“Many employees require accommodations that will allow them to work,” EEOC Miami District Director Evangeline Hawthorne said in a statement.

“The commitment by UPS to address this problem by taking strong, affirmative measures will help ensure equal opportunity for employees,” Hawthorne added.

This story was originally published December 26, 2023 at 8:33 AM with the headline "UPS worker is told he’s a ‘liability’ due to his diabetes — then gets fired, feds say."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.