Former UPS Employee Alleges Discrimination Led to Termination Reduced Pension and Lower Pay

Tewksbury, Mass. – A 25 year veteran of the package-delivery giant UPS has filed a lawsuit claiming that she was discriminated against on the basis of her sex and age when she was forced to leave her job in December.

The former yard controller had been working in that position since 2001, and “planned and depended” on keeping the position until early 2014 when she could receive her full pension from the company.

Sandra Regis from Tewksbury, Mass., despite good annual performance reviews, was told in October that her position was being eliminated at the end of last year and that she would be replaced by a part-time employee.

According to the complaint, “UPS told the plaintiff that if she wanted to continue to work at the Company her only option was to accept a part-time position, outside her Department, which required heavy physical labor that the plaintiff is unable to perform given her physical size, condition and age.

“Of the three OMB Yard Controllers (one working each shift), the plaintiff was the oldest and the only female. The two make OMS [Operations Management Specialist] Yard Controllers are, upon information and belief, at least 5 years younger than Regis; one has about three months more seniority than the plaintiff, the other has approximately 11 years less seniority and experience than the plaintiff,” it continues.

Regis made a number of requests to UPS, where she offered to work other shifts, the new part-time position, or any position that didn’t require heavy physical labor.

She also asked for an explanation why her position was being eliminated instead of a less senior person’s, but UPS allegedly did not respond to any of her requests.

The complaint states, “Consequently, the plaintiff was forced to leave her employment with UPS on December 31, 2012, when her OMS Yard Controller position was purportedly eliminated,” however, it also alleges that another person was placed in her former position on a full-time not part-time basis.

“As a result of UPS’s termination of her employment, the plaintiff’s pension is almost one-third less than she would have received had she been able to continue to work at UPS until early 2014 and earn her full pension,” it says.

According to the complaint, “In October 2012, the plaintiff learned that her salary was about 20% to 25% less than the male OMS Yard Controller who had about the same level of experience and seniority, and that the male OMS Yard Controller with 11 years less experience and seniority was earning about the same amount as the plaintiff.”

In November, Regis sent a letter to UPS complaining that she was being discriminated against because the company was “effectively terminating her employment, and because it was paying her less than her two male colleagues who perform the same work.”

In the letter, she said, “My age and gender are the only reasons which can explain why I am being moved out of my Yard Control position, instead of the OMS in Yard Control with less seniority and experience, and why I am not being allowed to stay and perform my same job functions even if it is only on a part-time basis.”

She also reiterated that she could not perform the heavy physical labor required by the part-time position offered by UPS, but that she would accept any part-time or full-time job not requiring that kind of labor; UPS allegedly never responded to her letter, or claim of discrimination, according to the complaint.

In a previous letter to UPS in April, 2006, she asked to be considered for promotion, and told the company that she had twice been passed over for younger male employees with less qualifications and experience; UPS allegedly also didn’t respond to this letter, or address those concerns.

Regis filed charge of discrimination against her former employer with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and its federal counterpart the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in February, but requested permission to withdraw her charges in May to file private lawsuit.

“The discriminatory actions against the plaintiff were taken against the background of UPS favoring less experienced, male employees over female employees in general and the plaintiff in particular,” the complaint alleges.

Regis is seeking at least compensatory damages, including loss of income, and loss of retirement income and benefits.

The complaint does not indicate whether the plaintiff was a member of a union, or had any form of representation before seeking legal counsel.

The defendants had yet to file an answer to the complaint by the filing of this report.

The case will be heard by US District Court Judge Joseph Tauro.

This article was produced for Open Media Boston's Open Court Project.