UPS Settles With Deaf Workers in Bias Suit

United Parcel Service Inc. agreed Monday to pay $10 million and improve working conditions for deaf employees to settle the nation’s first class-action employment discrimination lawsuit on behalf of hearing-impaired workers.

The package delivery company -- the nation’s fourth-largest employer, with more than 320,000 workers -- admitted no wrongdoing in agreeing to the proposed settlement of the suit, which was filed in 1999 in federal court in San Francisco.

“UPS is proud of the outstanding record we have of providing accommodations for deaf and hard-of-hearing employees,” spokeswoman Peggy Gardner said. “In most instances, UPS has gone far beyond what the law requires because of the company’s desire to create a positive work environment.”

The Atlanta-based company chose to settle the suit to promote goodwill among employees and because of the estimated cost of continuing with the trial, which began in April and was expected to last the rest of the year, Gardner said.

UPS has refused to settle the suit’s final demand, that it drop its hearing requirement for delivery car and van drivers, which is based on a standard set by the Department of Transportation for drivers of vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds.

“UPS believes people who cannot meet those minimum standards should not be driving a package car,” Gardner said. “It is a safety issue. It is not a disability or discrimination issue.”

The lawsuit claimed that UPS discriminated against deaf applicants for jobs and promotions. It was settled on behalf of about 1,000 deaf or hearing-impaired people who have worked for or applied for jobs with UPS since 1997.

The settlement is believed to be the largest in a deaf employment case. Previous suits were filed on behalf of individuals and smaller groups.

“This had been a hard-fought battle to get UPS to recognize that deaf people have the right to equal treatment and opportunities,” said Bert Enos, one of two workers whose complaints triggered the suit. “I am pleased that this giant company has now committed itself to correcting the many barriers that I and other deaf people throughout the country have faced in the workplace.”

The $10-million settlement, which amounts to less than two days’ profit for UPS, based on its 2002 earnings of $3.2 billion, was not covered by the company’s insurance carriers.

The settlement includes $4.1 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses.

According to the plaintiffs, UPS failed to take steps to communicate with its deaf workers, leaving them isolated and without means of advancement and access to other opportunities.

As a result, some plaintiffs struggled for years, working in part-time positions, to provide for their families, said Caroline Jacobs, a lawyer with Oakland-based Disability Rights Advocates, who represented the workers.

“Some asked to apply for supervisory and management positions,” she said, “and were told, ‘You can’t because you are deaf. You can’t use the walkie-talkie.’ Or, ‘What would you do in an emergency?’ ”

The lawsuit also alleged that deaf workers at UPS were left out of safety training programs. Employee Barbaranti Oloyede testified that UPS refused to provide him with an interpreter during company-wide training sessions on anthrax after the deaths of postal workers who had handled contaminated mail.

UPS agreed to make many changes, including providing deaf and hearing-impaired workers with vibrating pagers, equipping job sites with text telephones and providing interpreters as needed during employee interviews, emergency evacuation drills and other company meetings and events.

Under the settlement, plaintiffs would receive as much as $60,000 each depending on their tenure with UPS and their involvement in the suit.

Workers have not fared well with lawsuits against their employers under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which took effect in 1992. A recent American Bar Assn. survey found that employers have won 94.5% of federal court decisions in cases brought under the ADA.

California lawmakers beefed up the state’s version of the law, known as the Fair Employment and Housing Act, in response to three recent Supreme Court rulings that appeared to limit the scope of the federal law.

In the suit against UPS, settlement talks began last fall but got hung up on a number of issues. The case went to trial in April, and plaintiffs presented evidence for six weeks, including the testimony of 30 workers. The agreement was reached after the trial judge encouraged the sides to resume talks.

If the two sides cannot settle the issue of UPS’ hearing requirement for delivery drivers, the case will go back into court later this year.

Shares of UPS were up 42 cents at $64.79 in New York Stock Exchange trading.