FedEx Ground Hit With $61 Million Verdict Over Racial Harassment of Two Drivers

Edgar Rizkallah and Kamil Issa drove delivery routes for FedEx Ground out of its operation in the Oakland area. Both men are of Lebanese descent. According to testimony at trial, a terminal manager subjected them to a steady run of ethnic abuse on the job. Witnesses described the drivers being called "terrorists," "camel jockeys," "Arabs," and other slurs aimed at their race and national origin.

The two men said the abuse was not a single outburst but a continuous pattern that ran through 1999 and 2000. They brought claims for harassment and discrimination, arguing that FedEx Ground and the manager had created a hostile work environment because of their race and where their families came from. Each man reported the incidents to senior management and to human resources.

At trial in Alameda County Superior Court, Christopher Dolan of The Dolan Law Firm represented the drivers. The firm proved that the company failed to respond once the harassment was reported. Evidence showed that FedEx Ground provided no training to its managers, supervisors, or contractors about what counted as unlawful harassment in the workplace, and that it took no steps to prevent the conduct after the men complained. The drivers testified about the emotional toll of returning to that environment day after day.

In early June 2006, after a phased trial, the jury's verdict reached just over $61 million. The award included roughly $11 million in compensatory damages for the emotional distress the two drivers suffered and $50 million in punitive damages against FedEx Ground, with a further amount assessed personally against the manager. At the time it ranked among the largest workplace discrimination awards in California, and it drew national news coverage.

FedEx Ground called the verdict excessive and said it would appeal. In a post-trial ruling, the judge reduced the total to $12.4 million.