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Former UPS Driver Awarded $600K In Sexual Harassment Suit

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UPS Loses Sexual Harassment SuitA former UPS driver was awarded a $600,000 verdict in a sexual discrimination case against parcel giant UPS.

In 2009, UPS driver Amber Ibarra was involved in a on-the-job single-vehicle accident.  She received a citation for the non-injury incident and was terminated.

Ibarra believed UPS used the accident as an excuse for termination.  She believes she was actually fired because she was a woman.

 

“In the 2009 accident, Ms. Ibarra was driving a UPS truck when it hopped a curb and hit a telephone pole, causing no injuries. Trial witnesses testified that several male UPS drivers from the same facility Odessa were allowed to keep their jobs despite being in far worse accidents, including two accidents involving fatalities and others involving serious injuries,” a press release from her attorney states.

Ibarra said the sexual harassment had occurred for years.  During the trial, Ibarra testified that she was often given more packages than the male UPS drivers were given, including heavy packages that a manager set aside specifically for Ibarra.

Following a four-year court battle, a federal court jury in Midland, Texas sided with Ibarraand.

“We always felt that if we could get a jury of Amber’s peers to hear this case, to hear what happened to her, and how she was treated, we would be fine,” says Midland attorney Holly Williams of the Williams Law Firm, P.C., who represented Ms. Ibarra at trial along with attorney Brian Carney. “The jurors agreed with us that women should be treated equally in the workplace, and I believe they intended to send a message with their verdict.”

 

 

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