Supreme Court Revives Pregnant UPS Worker's Disc. Lawsuit

[stephiestark]

Hopefully this hasn't already been posted in a random thread but I thought I'd share.
link

[wowcheezits]

Yup I read that while I was at work today. Shame on UPS for not accommodating to pregnant women! I'm surprised they were able to get away with doing this for so long.

[akraus2015]

Some people seriously surprise me. Would it really be that hard for someone to just help that woman lift some heavy shit every now and then? Maybe I'm unusually lucky to work for a wonderful man, but he helps me carry heavy things just because I'm small and not as strong as he is. He was also super accommodating to his assistant while she was pregnant and never made her left a finger. And he did these things just because he's a decent human being.

[mishy2010]

I work in an orthopaedic setting. If this was their policy someone who was having minor surgery but had a weight restriction would be fired too bc of those rules and that's just crazy to me. What if they were the victim of a car accident and broke their leg. That was completely out of their control but since it happened outside of work would the company would let them go? That to me is insanity. It's a temporary condition.

[ghostmonkey]

Why was she restricted to only 20 lbs? She routinely lifts more than that. Unless she was having complications, there was no need for that excessive restriction. UPS is fucking dumb for not offering some kind of light duty or figuring out some kind of system, however she was essentially given unpaid leave (which is what she would receive for an extended injury that prevented her from doing her job, and the same would happen to a male. My BIL had to have ankle surgery. He was put on leave). When you are not putting in 30 hrs/week, you are no longer eligible for full time benefits unless you are on disability.

I can see both sides here.

[pismoduo]

Mar 25, 2015 20:14:44 GMT -5 ghostmonkey said:

Why was she restricted to only 20 lbs? She routinely lifts more than that. Unless she was having complications, there was no need for that excessive restriction. UPS is fucking dumb for not offering some kind of light duty or figuring out some kind of system, however she was essentially given unpaid leave (which is what she would receive for an extended injury that prevented her from doing her job, and the same would happen to a male. My BIL had to have ankle surgery. He was put on leave). When you are not putting in 30 hrs/week, you are no longer eligible for full time benefits unless you are on disability.

I can see both sides here.

Agreed. I have a friend who used to work for UPS. His foot was broken when a heavy package fell on it and had to stay off it for quite a while. Same thing happened to him.

I don't think it's quite as easy to find a "light duty" job at most UPS locations as it is for other jobs. Even if they put you in one of the UPS stores, you're still not guaranteed not to have to lift something heavier than 20lbs.

[ghostmonkey]

Mar 25, 2015 20:50:50 GMT -5 pismoduo said:

Mar 25, 2015 20:14:44 GMT -5 ghostmonkey said:

Why was she restricted to only 20 lbs? She routinely lifts more than that. Unless she was having complications, there was no need for that excessive restriction. UPS is fucking dumb for not offering some kind of light duty or figuring out some kind of system, however she was essentially given unpaid leave (which is what she would receive for an extended injury that prevented her from doing her job, and the same would happen to a male. My BIL had to have ankle surgery. He was put on leave). When you are not putting in 30 hrs/week, you are no longer eligible for full time benefits unless you are on disability.

I can see both sides here.

Agreed. I have a friend who used to work for UPS. His foot was broken when a heavy package fell on it and had to stay off it for quite a while. Same thing happened to him.

I don't think it's quite as easy to find a "light duty" job at most UPS locations as it is for other jobs. Even if they put you in one of the UPS stores, you're still not guaranteed not to have to lift something heavier than 20lbs.

Exactly. What light duty jobs are there at a local warehouse? I can't imagine there are many.

[bunnyfungo]

Mar 25, 2015 20:50:50 GMT -5 pismoduo said:

Mar 25, 2015 20:14:44 GMT -5 ghostmonkey said:

Why was she restricted to only 20 lbs? She routinely lifts more than that. Unless she was having complications, there was no need for that excessive restriction. UPS is fucking dumb for not offering some kind of light duty or figuring out some kind of system, however she was essentially given unpaid leave (which is what she would receive for an extended injury that prevented her from doing her job, and the same would happen to a male. My BIL had to have ankle surgery. He was put on leave). When you are not putting in 30 hrs/week, you are no longer eligible for full time benefits unless you are on disability.

I can see both sides here.

Agreed. I have a friend who used to work for UPS. His foot was broken when a heavy package fell on it and had to stay off it for quite a while. Same thing happened to him.

I don't think it's quite as easy to find a "light duty" job at most UPS locations as it is for other jobs. Even if they put you in one of the UPS stores, you're still not guaranteed not to have to lift something heavier than 20lbs.

Uhh. That's a work comp claim then. He should have been given light duty, or if that couldn't be accommodated he should have received benefits (assuming he passes the state's waiting period exception). Not really the same.

[bunnyfungo]

Okay, this is where I think UPS is fucked up:

According to one of Young's lawyers, Sharon Fast Gustafson, they even accommodated people who had lost their driver's licenses due to drunk driving convictions: "They would give them a separate driver to drive the truck while they were delivering packages."

So, they could have accommodated her by having her be the driver and someone else deliver the packages. Problem solved. Seems discriminatory to me.

[pismoduo]

Mar 26, 2015 0:35:03 GMT -5 bunnyfungo said:

Okay, this is where I think UPS is fucked up:

According to one of Young's lawyers, Sharon Fast Gustafson, they even accommodated people who had lost their driver's licenses due to drunk driving convictions: "They would give them a separate driver to drive the truck while they were delivering packages."

So, they could have accommodated her by having her be the driver and someone else deliver the packages. Problem solved. Seems discriminatory to me.

Good point. If they made accommodations for others like that then they should have for her.

[pismoduo]

Mar 26, 2015 0:18:35 GMT -5 bunnyfungo said:

Mar 25, 2015 20:50:50 GMT -5 pismoduo said:

Agreed. I have a friend who used to work for UPS. His foot was broken when a heavy package fell on it and had to stay off it for quite a while. Same thing happened to him.

I don't think it's quite as easy to find a "light duty" job at most UPS locations as it is for other jobs. Even if they put you in one of the UPS stores, you're still not guaranteed not to have to lift something heavier than 20lbs.

Uhh. That's a work comp claim then. He should have been given light duty, or if that couldn't be accommodated he should have received benefits (assuming he passes the state's waiting period exception). Not really the same.

If I remember right he hasn't been there long enough to have met the waiting period.

[bunnyfungo]

Mar 26, 2015 0:43:54 GMT -5 pismoduo said:

Mar 26, 2015 0:18:35 GMT -5 bunnyfungo said:

Uhh. That's a work comp claim then. He should have been given light duty, or if that couldn't be accommodated he should have received benefits (assuming he passes the state's waiting period exception). Not really the same.

If I remember right he hasn't been there long enough to have met the waiting period.

The waiting period is how many days the person is taken off of work before they are eligible for benefits (it ranges from 3-7 days depending on the state). You don't have to work at a company for a certain amount of time to be eligible for work comp. If you are on payroll, you're covered.

Can you tell what I used to do for a living

[cavewmninbrit]

Many things said here is why I realise that not only is the US health insurance system fucked up but also the employment law!

In most other 1st world countries who would be considered on par with the US shit like this would not fly... FFS we have to let criminals vote in the EU bc technically they are citizens and have rights not to be prejudiced against!