UPS Supervisor Awarded $18,098,478 in Retaliatory Wrongful Termination Case (PR Newswire, Aug. 28)
On Friday, August 24th, a unanimous federal jury awarded former UPS supervisor Michael Marlo $2,201,425 in economic and non-economic damages, and an additional $15,897,053 in punitive damages following a six day trial. The eight-person jury found UPS retaliated against Marlo for bringing a prior wage and hour lawsuit, reporting safety violations to OSHA and the DOT, and discussing and encouraging other UPS supervisors to file their own lawsuits due to safety and wage violations by the company.
"After two and a half years of litigation, we are pleased Mr. Marlo was finally able to have a jury of peers hear his case and see the evidence of what UPS wrongfully put him through. After 22 years of dedicated and outstanding service to UPS, the jury clearly felt Mr. Marlo deserved to be treated fairly rather than railroaded by a sham investigation that resulted in a foregone conclusion – his termination. And the fact that at the time he was fired his trial against UPS was only 5 months away made it all the more egregious," said Mark Peters, one of the attorneys who represented Mr. Marlo. "We hope the jury's verdict will send a message to UPS and other employers throughout the State that retaliating against employees for engaging in constitutionally protected activity is not only illegal, but is also immoral."