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Update:
- A federal judge in Washington granted class status to a group of UPS workers arguing the company refuses to pay drivers while they are on short-term military leave despite paying for other short-term absences.
- The class includes more than 150 current and former full-time UPS employees who worked in Washington since October 2014 and took military leave for no more than 14 consecutive days.
- The judge ruled class certification would “serve the interests of individual class members for whom the potential recovery may be small in comparison to the costs of litigation.”
- Part-time UPS workers did not receive class certification, with the judge ruling they aren’t comparable to full-time workers because their benefits accrue at different rates.
UPS leave class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Justin Baker has asked a federal judge in Washington to certify a class of 440 soldiers in his class action lawsuit filed against the United Parcel Service Inc.
- Why: Baker argues he and the proposed class were identically injured by allegedly missing out on pay from their jobs at UPS when they took leave to fulfill their U.S. Army Reserve military service requirement.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Washington federal court.
(May 1, 2023)
A sergeant in the U.S Army Reserve has requested class certification in a Washington federal court for a group of soldiers the reservist claims are owed back pay for their time spent working for the United Parcel Service (UPS).
Plaintiff Justin Baker argues he and the proposed class of soldiers share questions about whether paid leave is a benefit, and if their military leave was ultimately comparable to that of paid short-term leave.
Baker, who originally filed his class action lawsuit against UPS in March 2021, has now asked a federal judge to grant class certification to a group of 440 soldiers employed by the company in Washginton since October 2004.
“Plaintiff seeks to certify a class of UPS workers subject to the same employment policies he challenges here, and who, like him, worked in the State of Washington and took unpaid short-term leave from UPS to fulfill military service obligations,” the motion states.
Army reservist UPS workers lost out on pay when fulfilling military service obligation, says class action
Baker claims he and the soldiers he seeks to represent were identically injured by allegedly losing out on pay from their civilian jobs during the time they were fulfilling their obligation to serve in the military.
Baker, who says he has worked full-time as a UPS driver since 2007 and joined the Army Reserve in 2014, argues non-military UPS workers did not lose out on pay when taking comparable short-term leave.
“UPS provides no pay to servicemembers who must take short-term absences from work to fulfill obligations for the U.S. military, Reserves, or National Guard … such as the occasional long weekend drill or annual 2-week training requirements,” the motion states.
UPS previously asked a federal judge to dismiss the complaint in August 2021, unsuccessfully arguing at that time that its policy did not discriminate against soldiers due to it not offering paid military leave to non-military workers, according to Law360.
Baker claims UPS violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), which he argues “mandates that employers provide the same benefits to employees who take military leave as they provide to employees who take comparable leaves.”
A pair of similar class action lawsuits were independently filed against Amazon and American Airlines in December 2022 over claims the companies violated USERRA by allegedly denying their service member workers proper military leave pay.
Have you been denied pay from your job while away on military leave? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiff is represented by Michael J. Scimone and Ryan Cowdin of Outten & Golden LLP, Thomas G. Jarrard of the Law Office of Thomas G. Jarrard PLLC, Matthew Z. Crotty of Riverside Law Group PLLC, R. Joseph Barton of Barton & Downes LLP, Peter Romer-Friedman of Peter Romer-Friedman Law PLLC and Robert D. Friedman of Gupta Wessler PLLC.
The UPS leave class action lawsuit is Baker, et al. v. United Parcel Service Inc., et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-00114, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
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