Los Angeles, CAFederal Express (FedEx) is facing two lawsuits that claim the company engages in discriminatory practices regarding its older employees. The lawsuits claim that the company discriminates against couriers over 40 years old, especially if they have over ten years' seniority, by taking away their routes and setting unrealistic performance targets.
A lawsuit was filed against FedEx by plaintiffs claiming that programs adopted by FedEx in 1994, the "Best Practices Pays" (BPP) and "Minimal Acceptable Performance Standards" (MAPS) were designed to force older couriers to quit before they reached 55 years of age. According to the lawsuit, the company gave supervisors lists of older couriers to target for increased supervision, discipline, and harassment.
The lawsuit also states that FedEx has been charged with age discrimination numerous times. According to the documents, filed December 23, 2005, "Defendant FedEx has purposefully engaged in age discriminatory practices with the full knowledge that in so doing it was discriminating against its older couriers, without regard for the rights of those couriers under the ADEA."
Furthermore, the plaintiff claims that when he joined a previous lawsuit against FedEx, he was subjected to retaliation from the company. The plaintiff says he was told to meet unrealistic performance expectations or be terminated, that his routes were changed without notice or reason, and he was targeted for productivity issues.
FedEx has been in trouble for other forms of discrimination, including racial and sexual discrimination. In fact, just last year an investigation was begun by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission into allegations of a pattern of discrimination against minorities. In October, 2005, the company paid $500,000 to settle a lawsuit on behalf of 20 employees who claimed FedEx denied them promotions because of their race.
It is illegal for companies to discriminate against their workers on the basis of age. In May, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that civil rights laws that protected people against race and sex discrimination should also protect those who file suits alleging age discrimination. This means that rather than having to prove that their employers' actions were deliberate, which is often difficult to do, the plaintiffs only have to show that the company had a policy in place that caused harm to older employees and was not a "reasonable" business policy.
If you have suffered from discrimination as a Federal Express courier, please contact a [Fedex Age Discrimination] lawyer who will evaluate your claim at no charge.