EEOC Sues Federal Express for Disability Discrimination

KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — Federal Express Corporation, formerly known as FedEx Ground Package Systems, Inc., violated federal law by failing to provide reasonable accommodations to blind employees at its Kernersville, North Carolina facility, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

The EEOC’s suit charged that Federal Express Corporation discriminated against four individual employees who worked as package handlers, and a class of employee package handlers, who are disabled because of blindness, by failing to provide them with reasonable accommodations which would allow them to perform the essential functions of their jobs and enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment as employees without disabilities. The suit also said Federal Express Corporation failed to maintain records, in violation of federal law.

“Federal law is clear that failure to provide a needed reasonable accommodation for a disability where one is available and can be provided without causing an undue hardship is unlawful discrimination,” said Melinda Dugas regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District.

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires the accommodation of disabilities, absent undue hardship. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Federal Express Corporation, formerly doing business as FedEx Ground Package Systems, Inc., Case No. 1:26-cv-00608) in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Charlotte District Office has jurisdiction over North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.