UPS firing of Maui driver prompts racial bias suit
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a federal lawsuit yesterday accusing United Parcel Service of racial discrimination for firing a driver on Maui.
The commission said Carlos Harris was fired for swearing on the job while other drivers who engaged in similar conduct were disciplined less harshly. Harris, who is black, worked at UPS's Kahului facility from March 1994 to September 1998.
Timothy Riera, Honolulu office director for the commission, said Harris was fired for swearing around co-workers, not customers, and had a clean job record before that. Riera said an investigation by the commission found a marked difference in the way black and nonblack employees were treated. Attempts to settle with UPS were unsuccessful, he said.
A spokeswoman at UPS' Atlanta headquarters, Peggy Gardner, said she hadn't seen the suit and couldn't immediately comment. Lance Hirokawa, a human resources manager for UPS in Hawaii, said he didn't know about the suit and could not comment.
The lawsuit seeks back pay, reinstatement of Harris and unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. It also seeks an injunction blocking the company from engaging in any discriminatory employment practices.
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