FedEx Accused Of Discriminating Against Disabled Employees, Requiring Them To Be ‘100% Healed’

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is accusing delivery service company FedEx of discrimination against employees with disabilities , claiming they need to be “100% healed,” HR Dive reports .

A lawsuit filed on Sept. 6 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota says FedEx violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by requiring transport drivers with medical restrictions to take unpaid medical leave after a temporary reassignment period until they are healed. The company allegedly placed employees on leave even when they could perform their job functions with or without feasible accommodations while medical restrictions were still in place.

The agency also accused FedEx of failing to provide accommodations to affected employees.

According to Reuters , the complaint stemmed from a Minneapolis-based driver who claims she was fired in 2021 due to chronic back pain . Another driver from Las Vegas allegedly fractured her vertebrae in a work-related accident and has been on unpaid leave since November 2022. Regional attorney for the EEOC’s Chicago office, Gregory Gochanour, released a statement saying employees suffer from “100% healed policies,” costing workers their livelihoods without any consideration: “100%-healed policies, like the one FedEx has, cost qualified workers their livelihood without giving them individual consideration,” Gochanour said.

“Under the ADA, employers have an obligation to explore reasonable accommodations and not to screen out qualified individuals with disabilities who can do their jobs.”

Such policies have been linked to EEOC litigation. In 2022, gas station Circle K reached a $8 million settlement after being accused of maintaining a 100% healed policy , among other alleged violations. A medical center in Louisiana had similar issues with the agency and settled over accusations of requiring employees to be “fully fit for duty” or 100% healed if they needed more fixed leave or light duty.

The suit seeks back pay and other monetary damages for an unidentified number of workers affected by FedEx’s alleged policy. The EEOC is also seeking an order requiring FedEx to overhaul its employment policies to comply with the ADA.

This isn’t the first time FedEx has been tied to issues with the EEOC. In 2020, the company paid $3.3 million to over 220 deaf and hard-of-hearing people after the agency accused FedEx of denying employment or accommodations in violation of the ADA. The company denied any wrongdoing but was required to provide pagers and package-scanning devices with non-audible cues to employees with hearing issues.

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