The U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Texas recently ordered FedEx to pay $366 million to a former employee who sued over racial discrimination and retaliation. It rejected the company's request to undo the jury's verdict. The company immediately appealed the court's decision on Feb. 3.
Background
In May 2021, Jennifer Harris, a Black former sales manager for FedEx in Texas, sued the shipping company for racial discrimination and retaliating against her for complaining about discrimination. The lawsuit claimed that FedEx violated federal law by hiring HR staff who were not qualified to uphold anti-discrimination policies, failing to adequately train its managers to follow laws prohibiting discrimination and retaliation, and failing to supervise its managers to ensure they complied with laws prohibiting discrimination and retaliation. The lawsuit said Harris was recognized as a high performer and successful sales manager. The lawsuit was brought under the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. Section 1981 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Section 1981 prohibits private parties from refusing to enter into contracts because of race and, unlike Title VII, does not have a cap on damages, notes Fisher Phillips.
"FedEx was constantly changing Ms. Harris's goals or moving Ms. Harris's accounts around so that it would negatively affect Ms. Harris's sales," the lawsuit said. "When the discrimination began, FedEx artificially set Ms. Harris's [sales] quota...
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