A judge has recently decided to reduce a $5.45 million award granted to a former UPS driver in his whistleblower retaliation case by almost $90,000. This reduction was made as the judge determined that the delivery service was entitled to offset the amount based on the workers’ compensation money received by the plaintiff.
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury quickly reached a decision in favor of Richard Galvan on March 6. In their court filings before the recent hearing, UPS lawyers argued that the amount awarded to Galvan should be reduced by the Social Security benefits of $161,706.00, state disability benefits of $120,298.33, and workers’ compensation benefits of $87,397 that he had received.
However, Judge Kristin S. Escalante ruled that UPS was only entitled to offset Galvan’s workers’ compensation benefits. Galvan’s attorney argued that the law prevents a defendant from reducing a plaintiff’s damages by introducing evidence of compensation received from independent sources. Nevertheless, the judge found that Galvan’s workers’ compensation benefits were paid either by UPS or its workers’ compensation insurance carrier.
In his lawsuit, Galvan claimed that he started working for UPS in October 1986 and was a member of Teamsters Local 396 throughout his employment. He became a union steward in 2000 and was fired in January 2017 while working as a big-rig driver.
Galvan, who is now in his mid-50s, alleged that UPS reduced his hours and discriminated against him because of an injury and his age. He stated that younger workers with less seniority were given some of his shifts starting from August 2016, and when he filed a grievance, the discrimination increased.
Galvan also claimed that he was assaulted by a co-worker with a history of violence while participating in workers’ rights activism in an employee parking lot. According to the lawsuit filed in April 2018, the assailant was never disciplined.
In their legal documents, UPS lawyers denied that Galvan faced any retaliation.
“In fact, the evidence demonstrates that throughout his 30-plus years of employment with UPS, Galvan raised numerous concerns and was never subjected to any form of retaliation for making such complaints,” argued the UPS lawyers.
The UPS attorneys further stated in their court papers that Galvan was fired because he was found to have “engaged in proven dishonesty” following an internal investigation. The decision to terminate him was upheld by a neutral arbitrator in a union grievance hearing, during which several witnesses, including Galvan, testified.
The UPS lawyers also emphasized that the alleged attack on Galvan by his co-worker was not authorized by UPS.
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