Stribling v. United Parcel Service Inc
2:22-cv-00495
| E.D. Wis. | May 3, 2024Background
- Brian Stribling, an African American feeder driver at UPS since 1998, alleged violations of Title VII against his employer, UPS.
- The case centers on a 2016 confrontation with his (also African American) supervisor, Henry Dismukes, after Stribling discussed another employee’s termination and was subsequently called “not black enough” and "sellout."
- Stribling made multiple complaints (mostly omitting explicit references to racial comments) via the UPS Helpline and to union stewards but alleges ongoing racial harassment by Dismukes and others for several years.
- Stribling claims that UPS failed to address his repeated verbal and written complaints about racial harassment, even after management changes and internal investigations.
- UPS sought summary judgment, asserting that Stribling’s race discrimination and hostile work environment claims were untimely, meritless, and inadequately connected to race or retaliation under Title VII.
- The court ruled on UPS's motion for summary judgment, focusing on whether Stribling was subjected to a racially hostile work environment and/or retaliation in violation of Title VII.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timeliness of Hostile Work Environment Claim | Harassment continued into 2022-2023; thus, not time-barred | Claims are largely based on pre-2020 events | Factual dispute—claim may be timely under continuing violation doctrine |
| Retaliatory Hostile Work Environment | Suffered harassment after protected activity (complaints/EEOC) | No evidence of retaliation or protected activity | No evidence of retaliation—summary judgment granted for UPS |
| Racially Hostile Work Environment | Frequent, direct racial insults over years by supervisors/coworkers | Harassment not "because of" race and not severe | Genuine factual disputes; summary judgment denied for UPS |
| Employer Liability (Faragher/Ellerth Defense) | Used UPS complaint process, including verbal reports | Stribling failed to use procedures or specify harassment | Factual dispute—jury could find UPS did not act reasonably/timely |
Key Cases Cited
- Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (1986) (summary judgment standard—genuine dispute of material fact required)
- National R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Morgan, 536 U.S. 101 (2002) (continuing violation doctrine for hostile work environment claims)
- Harris v. Forklift Sys., Inc., 510 U.S. 17 (1993) (standard for hostile work environment)
- Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998) (employer affirmative defense for supervisor harassment)
- Burlington Indus., Inc. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742 (1998) (defense for employer based on preventive/corrective measures)
- Scaife v. United States Dep’t of Veterans Affairs, 49 F.4th 1109 (7th Cir. 2022) (elements of hostile work environment claim)