Fedmond loses appeal in former employee discrimination case

A U.S. judge rejected FedEx Corp's request to throw out or reduce a jury's $366 million damages award to a Black former employee who said the package delivery company fired her after she complained about racial discrimination.

FedEx appealed the final judgment entered by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt in Houston in favor of plaintiff Jennifer Harris, who spent more than 12 years at FedEx before her January 2020 termination.

Harris said she had been a rising star who had been promoted six times and made a district manager before her white supervisor asked her in March 2019 to take a demotion.

The plaintiff said she reported discrimination three days later, prompting the supervisor to complain about her work and issue a written warning, and culminating in her firing after a sham investigation.

On October 25, jurors awarded Harris $1.16 million in compensatory damages and $365 million in punitive damages.

In an effort to overturn the verdict, FedEx said Harris did not substantiate her claims and was fired over a period of many months because of her unsatisfactory performance. The punitive damages should not exceed the compensatory damages awarded, according to FedEx.

The Memphis, Tennessee-based company said it believed that insurance would cover up to $75 million of any payout, subject to a $10 million retention.

The verdict was appealed by FedEx to the 5th U.S. The Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

The company and Harris' lawyer did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.