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Employee Complaints Need to Be Taken Seriously
The current case of Butler v. FedEx Corp., involves an employee, Lynette Butler who worked for FedEx Trade Networks Transportation & Brokerage Inc. for 17 years until she was fired on November 2012. In 2010 Butler was assigned the position of transportation supervisor, where she approved driver timecards and monitored costs. In the course and scope of her job she alleges that she came across a number of situations pertaining to efficiency and safety that gave her pause. Amongst her observations were the following: (1) managers were receiving kickbacks for outsourcing freight to a competitor, which she alleges hurt FedEx financially and could create liability, (2) trucks containing hazardous chemicals were being parked at the facility overnight in violation of state and federal laws and that these trucks posed a safety risk to employees and the public and (3) she observed a driver who routinely failed to submit accurate timecards and she discovered that he along with other drivers routinely logged more than 10 hours a day in overtime, which constitutes a violation of federal law. Despite her complaining to management on numerous occasions, no action was taken. In April of 2012 Butler states that she was demoted and though her title remained the same she alleges that she no longer supervised drivers and most of her efforts were consumed doing paperwork. Thereafter, in August 2012, she was suspended with pay for allegedly falsifying documents and misreporting payroll related to the driver who had submitted inaccurate timecards. Butler responded that the inaccurate timecards were a result of the driver and that she had warned her managers to that effect. Butler was terminated on November 21, 2012 and she asserts it was because she was “unwilling to turn a blind eye to what she felt were serious violations” of company policy and safety rules. Her lawsuit seeks general economic, punitive and compensatory damages for lost earnings and benefits as well as mental anguish and emotional distress. She alleges that FedEx intentionally created false evidence and slandered her. Recommendations: Though this is an ongoing case, it stresses the importance of paying attention to employee complaints about possible violations of company policy and or rules as well as matters that may affect employee and or public safety. While it may be upsetting to an employer to hear such allegations, emotional reaction must be restrained and a calm deliberative process initiated. It is vital that these complaints be taken seriously and much like charges of harassment be promptly and thoroughly investigated. Lastly, it is extremely important to have a written policy that clearly states that any employee bringing such matters to the attention of the company will in no way shape or form be retaliated against and that such complaints will be promptly and thoroughly investigated. It is imperative that all mangers be trained to handle such situations and immediately notify human resources of these complaints and that managers and supervisors not take any action against the individual that could be interpreted as retaliatory.