Former Black UPS Driver Awarded $238M Over Racial Discrimination And Retaliation

Talk about a payday!

A former UPS driver from Yakima, Washington, Tahvio Gratton, was awarded $237.6 million by a jury after finding he was discriminated against, a victim of retaliation, and was fired after filing complaints, The Columbian reports.

The jury in Spokane granted Gratton $198 million in punitive damages and $39.6 million for emotional distress. The delivery service company requested Judge Thomas Rice not to enter the judgment, claiming the amount was excessive and that Gratton’s case wasn’t proven. Federal court documents state that the former driver was fired after a female employee claimed Gratton sexually assaulted her, and an investigation was conducted.

UPS also plans to seek a new trial or a reduced judgment.

Gratton began working for UPS in September 2016 and transferred to the Yakima location in January 2018, where he held employment until he was terminated in October 2021. During his tenure there, the former driver said he felt that he was treated differently than his white peers, recalling times when his on-road supervisor would ignore him and speak down to him while being friendly with the white drivers.

According to the lawsuit filed in October 2022, a manager who was white and younger spent the day riding with Gratton in April 2018, repeatedly referring to him as “Boy.” “Move faster, Boy, let’s go!” and “Boy, I told you to hurry!” the white manager would allegedly say. When Gratton requested that he stop, the manager said he was from the South, and that’s just how he talked.

When the two stopped at a local Footlocker location for a route stop, an employee described the manager’s conduct toward Gratton as “shocking” and confirmed the “boy” references.

In Gratton’s complaints, he said part-time drivers were given routes before him, despite being a full-time driver, on days that all drivers weren’t needed, regardless of a union agreement that full-time drivers be given preference. The suit states Gratton was the only full-time driver who was not provided with work. When Gratton filed more complaints, the treatment worsened, as did his work assignments- even when managers filled in as drivers.

In order to receive assignments, Gratton volunteered for what drivers would label as the worst route. This route required delivering several large packages to a mall, which would take up more time. The center manager asked another driver to claim the mall route in an attempt to prevent Gratton from working, but the employee refused.

Attorney Dustin Collier, who was one of the lawyers who represented Gratton, claimed the verdict may be both the biggest of its kind and the biggest in the state, ever, according to the Seattle Times. However, he is happy that the jury and the judge saw “the truth.” 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,” Collier said.

While a UPS spokesperson says the company is disappointed in the verdict, Rice said during his ruling in April 2024 that a “reasonable jury could find Gratton was fired for speaking out” and UPS’ reasoning for Gratton’s firing was pretextual.