UPS “100% Healthy” Disability Policies and Unpaid Wages Class Action

What happens when an employee is off work for a long period of time for sickness or the effects of an accidentand needs work restrictions to return? The complaint for this class action brings suit against UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Inc. and United Parcel Service, Inc., primarily over what it calls their “inflexible leave policies” towards such workers. It alleges two of the companies’ policies—the 100% Healthy Leave Policy and the 12 Month Leave Policy are illegal under Kentucky law.

Two classes have been defined for this action:

• The Leave Policies Class is all current and former employees of UPS who were employed in Kentucky during the applicable limitations period and who were subject to a UPS leave policy.
• The Unpaid Wages Class for this action is all current and former employees of UPS who were employed in Kentucky during the applicable limitations period and who were subject to a UPS leave policy.

One of the plaintiffs for this class action is Marion Hughes, who suffers from a qualified disability and disabling conditions including chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. Because of this, she says, in 2003, UPS placed her on a short-term leave.

When she returned to work in 2004, the complaint alleges, her doctor placed her under work restrictions, including that she should lift no more than ten pounds, she should not be required to stand for a prolonged period, and she should not do overtime. UPS accommodated these restrictions, the complaint claims, and permitted her to return to work.

In December 2005, she had surgery, and the complaint claims she was put on short-term disability leave again. She stayed on leave until March 11, 2006. At that time, the complaint claims, “UPS determined that Mrs. Hughes was no longer disabled and terminated her short-term disability benefits.”

At that time, her doctor attempted to reimpose the same work restrictions, but the complaint alleges that UPS told her she could not return to work unless she was 100% healthy and not subject to any work restrictions. When she asked why she could not do as she had done before, the complaint alleges “she was informed by UPS Human Resources personnel that UPS had adopted a new 100% healthy policy effective January 1, 2006.”

This new policy, the complaint alleges, requires that employees be 100% healthy and free of any work restrictions before they can return to work at UPS. Because she was not able to do that, the complaint alleges, UPS terminated her employment.

The allegations for the unpaid wages issue are simple. Employees are required to come to and leave work through a security checkpoint, the complaint says, “for the benefit of UPS.” According to the complaint, they are not allowed to clock in on arrival, before they go through the checkpoint to enter the workplace, and they are required to clock out before they went through the checkpoint to go home. The employees are not paid for the time they must spend going through the security checkpoint.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Employment
Tags: Employment Violations, Health or Safety Standards for Employees, Individuals with Disabilities