A judge has reduced a former UPS driver’s whistleblower retaliation award by nearly $90,000, bringing the total to $5.45 million. The reduction was based on workers’ compensation money that the plaintiff received.
The jury in the Los Angeles Superior Court reached their verdict in favor of Richard Galvan on March 6 after only a short deliberation. However, UPS attorneys argued that the jury’s award should be offset by the plaintiff’s Social Security benefits, state disability benefits, and workers’ compensation benefits.
Judge Kristin S. Escalante ruled that UPS was only entitled to offset the workers’ compensation benefits. Although Galvan’s attorney claimed that the law protects plaintiffs from having their damages reduced based on compensation from independent sources, the judge determined that the workers’ compensation benefits were paid by either UPS or its insurance carrier.
In his lawsuit, Galvan stated 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 when he was 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 claimed that younger workers with less seniority were given some of his shifts starting in August 2016, and when he filed a grievance, the discrimination worsened.
Additionally, Galvan stated 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 faced no disciplinary action.
In their court papers, UPS attorneys denied that Galvan had experienced retaliation.
“Indeed, the evidence shows that Galvan raised numerous concerns throughout his 30-plus years at UPS and was never retaliated against for making such complaints,” argued the UPS lawyers.
The UPS attorneys further stated that Galvan was fired due to proven dishonesty after an internal investigation. The decision was upheld by a neutral arbitrator in a union grievance hearing where several witnesses, including Galvan, testified.
According to UPS lawyers, UPS did not authorize the alleged attack on Galvan by his co-worker.
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