Feds sue FedEx, alleging injured workers were illegally denied accommodations

An injured Minnesota FedEx driver says she was placed on unpaid medical leave and later fired without being offered accommodations to return to work, despite her requests.

Now the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing the delivery giant on behalf of Wendy Gulley and other drivers around the country, alleging FedEx violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The federal lawsuit filed in Minnesota last week claims ramp transport drivers with medical restrictions are subject to a “100% healed” policy and “are not provided with reasonable accommodations and are instead placed on unpaid medical leave and/or terminated.”

Ramp transport drivers haul packages between airports and FedEx terminals.

The company’s policy “cost qualified workers their livelihood without giving them individual consideration,” EEOC attorney Gregory Gochanour said in a news release. “Employers have an obligation to explore reasonable accommodations and not to screen out qualified individuals with disabilities who can do their jobs.”

FedEx said in a statement the company is “committed to complying with all requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

Gulley, who worked at a FedEx facility in Minneapolis, injured her hip, back and Achilles tendon in 2019. She was first put on temporary work assignment that summer and placed on unpaid medical leave later that fall. She was fired in April 2021, according to the lawsuit.

After Gulley filed a complaint with the EEOC earlier this year, the agency had “reasonable cause to believe that FedEx violated the ADA,” the suit says. A settlement could not be reached.

The EEOC said in a news release the company “would not discuss reasonable accommodations with the driver that would have allowed them to keep working, such as getting assistance from other employees or using motorized equipment to help with moving freight.”

Two other employees with similar experiences are named in the suit: Dawn Kerr of Las Vegas and Anthony Buckner of Kansas City.

The lawsuit seeks compensation and damages for all affected employees and an order that FedEx “provide equal employment opportunities for qualified individuals with disabilities.”