Yakima, WA — In a significant reduction from an earlier decision, a federal judge in Eastern Washington has reduced a jury’s financial award from $237.6 million to $39.6 million for a former United Parcel Service (UPS) driver, Tahvio Gratton, in a case centered around racial discrimination and retaliation claims.
Gratton, who is Black, contended that his termination in October 2021 was in retribution for raising multiple complaints against his managers at the UPS facility in Yakima, where he was stationed from January 2018. These grievances detailed deteriorating working conditions and discriminatory treatment compared to his white colleagues, with issues including substandard work assignments and overt expressions of disrespect by supervisors.
The initial jury verdict handed Gratton a staggering $237.6 million, incorporating both compensatory and punitive damages. However, Judge Thomas Rice found the punitive damages imposed by the jury to be legally unsupportable, retaining only the compensatory portion intended to address Gratton’s emotional distress.
The cutback leaves Gratton with $39.6 million, a substantial sum, yet dramatically less than the jury’s original determination of UPS’s culpability. In response, UPS has signalled intentions to challenge even this revised award, seeking either a new trial or a further reduction by the court.
Documents from the court proceeding illustrate a troubling pattern at the Yakima UPS center. Gratton’s strained relationships with management escalated following his complaints to his union about the work environment. Notably, Gratton described being assigned to a notoriously unreliable delivery truck and facing isolation and undue criticism from supervisors.
In one instance recorded during April 2018, Gratton reported that a younger, white manager who accompanied him on deliveries repeatedly referred to him derogatorily as “Boy”. Gratton’s request for the manager to cease using the term was dismissed as a mere linguistic habit related to the manager’s Southern origins, according to the lawsuit. An observer at one of Gratton’s stops described the manager’s conduct as “shocking” and racially motivated.
The ultimate decision to fire Gratton came after an investigation into an accusation that he inappropriately touched another worker, an incident Gratton explained as accidental contact during a loss of balance. Despite his defense, the decision for termination, made by a labor manager in Seattle, moved forward without consideration of Gratton’s ongoing conflicts with local management, suggesting, according to the judge, no direct interference from the Yakima managers Gratton had complained about.
Critics of the legal proceedings argue that the disproportionate initial punitive sum reflected the jury’s perception of reckless or malicious intent on UPS’s part, which Judge Rice found unsupported by the evidence presented.
Since his departure from UPS, Gratton has established a successful barbecue business, showcasing resilience and entrepreneurial spirit after his controversial exit from the delivery company.
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