Deaf UPS Employee’s Discrimination Claims Survive Challenge

A deaf UPS Inc. employee who alleged discrimination based on his disability can seek a federal district court’s review without exhausting his union’s grievance processes, the Wisconsin court said.

Quinton Murphy said United Parcel Service, Inc. didn’t accommodate his request for sign language interpreters and denied him a full-time driving position on multiple occasions. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin said collective bargaining agreements didn’t preclude his claims, and encouraged mediation in a Tuesday decision.

Murphy communicates through American Sign Language. UPS failed to provide interpreters for meetings discussing promotions, job changes, discipline, safety, and scheduling, ...