Discrimination Doesn't Pay for FedEx

April 15, 2007, 4:15PM. By Jane Mundy

St. Ansgar, IALinda H. worked as a FedEx courier for 20 years and got along well with everyone except the new manager. "He singled me out and kept picking on me until I was eventually fired," she says. But Linda stuck to her guns and was reinstated. And that's not all...

"This new manager really had it in for me - we had a real personality clash," says Linda H. "Being new on the job, you would think he wanted input, but that wasn't the case. He constantly gave heavier work to me and other women and kept on scheduling me to work on Saturdays. I had a regular route for 15 years but he wrote up three warning letters against me: this meant that I couldn't bid on a route so I had to be a swing driver.

Fedex Age Discrimination

A 'swing driver' means that you cover other courier's vacations and don't have a set route but company policy says swing drivers don't work on Saturdays. He didn't like me quoting FedEx policy but I told him that policy is the only thing that protects me. Being a swing driver was very stressful and this frustrating, to say the least.

After he wrote me up a few times for insignificant reasons, I was eventually fired because I had used a few cups of windshield washer fluid from work in my personal car; FedEx fired me for theft, after all those years.

I collected unemployment insurance for four months - they even fought me on that. But FedEx has a 3-step guaranteed fair treatment (GFT). The first step comprised the first three levels of management and they wouldn't change it - they were the guys that fired me in the first place. The second step deals with the vice-president. He reinstated me because of my tenure, with a warning letter that stays in my file for a year. I had one month pay docked.

During the four months that I was unemployed, I filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commissioner of Iowa. We went through the process and they conducted an investigation. The board ruled 'probable cause that I was justified in my grievance' which means that when you get a probable cause, it is a big deal. Next, the state has a conciliator and he tried to work with FedEx and me to come up with a happy medium.

I got a ruling from the state and FedEx has offered me back pay. But I want more than that - being fired has been horrible on me and my family. Due to 18 months of stress from this incident and this manager, having to watch my back all the time and getting fired, I became very sick. I was diagnosed with MS - I know this didn't cause MS but I think it was the trigger. I was off work sick for six weeks just three months after I was reinstated.

FedEx won't budge so the state has given me a right to sue. I want to make sure my future medical bills will be covered. I plan to retire in five years - you have to be 55 to keep up medical insurance and I hope my health doesn't fail me before then.

When I filed the complaint with the State, six people gave statements on my behalf and the state said this was rare. These people figured if it happened to me, it could happen to them."

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READER COMMENTS

Posted by
steve
on November 28, 2016

i was an employee . placed with a person who harassed me. the manager was a manager i has 2012 and knew about this put her back with me. she made fun of the fact i had aids was gay and how i looked.
when i asked her to stop. complained it got worse hr was informed did an investigation but on a recording from the sr manager i was told i didnt know there was one.
i wrote to the director and it continued .
the final confrontation she cursed threatened me and we were both terminated . they fought me for unemployment was a no show. i filed with the human right commision. then they ffered me a job back (a week) after tripling down on firing me..which they knew i cant do .i would have to drop my complaint lose my fmla no vacation. and sign a letter of wrong doing.i did nothing wrong.. the attacker got her job back same hours across the street from where she was. i was offered nights and warehouse/store work..my condition they know i cant do this anymore now im on medicade

Posted by
Ghostwriter
on May 28, 2016

I spent a decade working my youth away there. In my opinion, it really all depends on the managers and Senior manager. If any one of them does not like you..... start looking for another job. MANAGEMENT protects Management. The real irony was that a casual handler could become a manager just because of a business degree. With that statement, that means this person was never a courier. Go figure. I got out of there, and I will tell you that hard work has hurt plenty of people. And after x amount of days if you can not return to your position, it is gone. Sure, they have another position for you, probably 100 miles away at the next station.
If you work there, watch your back.. literally, because once it is blown so is your career. Don't do anything questionible, be willing to give up all the most important family Hollidays, drink lots of water, CYA, CYA , CYA, and save some money in case you get the 3 write ups... Maybe just maybe, if you can drive perfectly and stay healthy, you may make it to retirement.
All this is my opinion based on my personal experience. Be safe Couriers!

Posted by
AJohnson
on April 9, 2016

I too was an employee at FedEx Freight. I was called a sissy by an Asst. Terminal Manager and a few days afterwards was fired. I was fired because I reported his abusive and discriminatory language to HR, they swept it under the rug and ME out the door.

Posted by
John
on March 3, 2015

Where do I start with this company. I worked there for 17 years. Went through many, many managers, some were good folks but most were not. I don't have enough room to state here what happens to you when you get on the bad side of management. Mistreatment is not the word for it, I firmly believe my blood pressure problems I began to have were directly due to poor treatment from management there. Managers at FedEx are taught to have an air about them, it is customary to pick an employee they feel is either a troublemaker or may not perform to the unreasonable standards they set. Which by the way is set per employee (they say it based on the route but that is crap, it it set based on personal opinions of the employee running the route) Then the push begins to "get blood on your sword" which means firing folks. I know this because I was a manager there for 3 years, I stepped down because I could not with good conscious do to employees what they asked. As a courier I was hurt by performing a function that management was told on numerous occasions was a safety hazard, but I was required to do. I had surgery which has left me unable to work at all. Never once did my manager or any manager ever call to check on me, even right after I had surgery. (Not a minor procedure, a 5 hour surgery) FedEx only cares about FedEx. They have a PSP philosophy (People Service Profit) they brag about but it only a propaganda tool they use to say what an awesome people company they are to work for. Nothing is further from the truth. Anyway, here I am unable to work, was terminated 6 months ago because they required me to find another position I could perform with my limitations but based on my handicap now they don't have that kind of job. I have gotten legal counsel on this but they refuse to talk with him. I have not had a check in 6 months and not far from losing everything. Bottom line, FedEx is a billion dollar company who got there on the backs of employees who who gave all they had only to cast aside when they could not longer give anymore. Like I said I could do this all but needless for me to say, I have them 17 years of hard work, they gave me bankruptcy.

Posted by
TOM
on January 27, 2015

Fired from fedex freight,after 17.9 years there for minor incidents..was written for anything..aka hurt a finger 11 stitches...written up for not wearing gloves..when did that become an issue???other drivers have had worse incidents and more of them that are still working there..NOT FAIR!!!! i'm 61 years old...

Posted by
billdeserthills
on September 11, 2013

You think working for Fed-Ex sucks--You should try running a business that depends on timely deliveries. Ups (in my area) cares enough about my business to at least call me if they have to return my package after 3 delivery attempts. Fed-Ex routinely simply ignores my typed & signed authorization and simply ships my important packages back. Fed-Ex truly doesn't care as they won't be paid one extra penny to actually get a package to where it belongs. Just one more thing I don't need in our present society.

Posted by
kayleia
on February 16, 2013

I too was an employee of FexEx, truly I did enjoy my job as a Swing Driver, not until I relocated to Texas, boy did they make up their own rules and yes, I did pull out the FedEx handbook aka bible. Being that I was the new kid on the block, I was singled out, on so many levels. I have been an employee for many years and did not make it one year in Texas. I was fired for cheating the company out of 4 minutes, there is nothing like lying on a timecard that I wrote on need to be corrected. However, I had a manager who just became a manager and wanted to show how much of a butt kisser he could be. He did not show to the GFT, never wrote in a statment saying the if there was a problem on my timecard he usually fix it in the am if I worked the night shift. I really think that it was so sad to lose good employees over managers/supervisors who just come in the company and want to show how big they could be.

I did not fight for my job, in which I am sure I would of been able to get my position back, but then I thought about "for what" the management sucks at this location and I would still be singled out there, so to avoid all of the stress, I did not fight.

Posted by
Miller
on September 5, 2011

FedEx denies employees time off to attend their FATHERS' funeral.

Go to YouTube, search word: FedEx Inhumane Treatment.

Did you notice the email I sent to the president and chief executive officer, David J. Bronczek, on September 29, 2008?

Did a 25 year FedEx employee get fired for using FedEx's internal dispute process?

Posted by
R. Easton
on February 7, 2011

I was also an employee for fedex for 16 years and fired because I had won custody of my child and asked to start 15 minutes later in the morning, so I can drive my child to daycare in the morning on the way to work . I was told that they would not be able to work with me and when i showed up 15 minutes late for work, they fired me. I worked alot of hours started back in 1987 when the business just started to expand I was trusted to with keys to centers to open new business but, wasnt able to be worked with. The manager and senior manager at the time didnt like me because i knew policy and procedure and had more seniority then both combined. Since then its the best thing that ever happened to me and my child i have a better job with stable hours unlike the people,service and profit organization.

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Posted by
E.Trevino
on November 17, 2010

It's to bad tenure employees have to fight so hard against a co. that relishes in their own philosophy, people, service, profit.
I too was a twenty year employee with fedex .I had a good performance record, and outstanding customer service. My last offense was crossing a conveyer belt. The senior mgr , who had been there only three months had fired me. I've learned since then that he didn't have to. Other couriers and the customers that I helped maintain for this co . were outraged. I am trying to fight and It seems impossible for the same outcome as Linda.At least she got benefits, I was denied.national

Discrimination Doesn't Pay for FedEx

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