Posted on: Saturday, December 13, 2003

Judge OKs employee's settlement with UPS

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

United Parcel Service Inc. will conduct periodic anti-discrimination training for all Hawai'i employees and pay a former Maui worker $150,000 as a part of a legal settlement approved by a federal judge yesterday.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which filed the suit in 2001 on behalf of former Maui UPS driver Carlos Harris, announced the settlement in which UPS denied the allegations but agreed to the payment and training.

According to the EEOC, UPS fired Harris, who is black, in 1998 for swearing on the job — around co-workers, but not customers — while nonblack co-workers who engaged in similar or substantially worse behavior were disciplined less severely.

EEOC regional attorney William Tamayo said in a statement that employers may take disciplinary action against employees who violate workplace rules but must ensure the rules are applied evenly.

"I'm thankful the EEOC stood up for my right to have equal treatment in the workplace," Harris said in a statement.

A UPS executive in Hawai'i referred a request for comment to corporate officials in Atlanta, who could not be reached yesterday afternoon.

Harris worked at the package delivery service's Kahului facility from March 1994 to September 1998.