Discrimination suit against FedEx revived

A federal appeals court has reinstated an age, gender and national origin lawsuit filed by a terminated saleswoman against a FedEx Corp. unit.

Teresita L. Viana, who was terminated as a salesperson after working 15 years at FedEx Corporate Services Inc., a unit of Memphis-based FedEx, was allegedly dismissed in June 2016 for falsifying her mileage expense reports, according to court papers in Thursday’s ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in Teresita L. Viana v. FedEx Corporate Services Inc.

Ms. Viana, who was home-based in Los Alamitos, California, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, charging she was discriminated against because of her gender, her Columbian national origin or ancestry, and her age, 55. She said her supervisor had spoken disparagingly of her and that the mileage reports could be explained.

The District Court granted FedEx summary judgment dismissing the case, which a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit unanimously overturned.

“In light of the minimal standard for making a prima facie showing of discrimination … we conclude from our review of the record that, at least for the purposes of summary judgment, Viana made a prima facie showing of discrimination. For example, there was evidence that (her supervisor) had called Viana a ‘bitch’ and used other derogatory and sexist terms to refer to her,” the ruling stated.

“We further determine that the proffered evidence was sufficient to raise material issues as to the legitimacy of FedEx’s determination that Viana had falsified records,” said the ruling, adding she had offered “reasonable explanations for the alleged mileage overages.”

The case was remanded for further proceedings.