Former Walmart truck driver falsely accused of fraud awarded $34.7 million by California jury – The Mercury News

A former Walmart truck driver was awarded $34.7 million after a San Bernardino County jury determined the company falsely accused him of fraud before firing him while he was on medical leave.

Jesus “Jesse” Fonseca worked as a truck driver for Walmart’s Apple Valley Distribution Center for 14 years before he was injured on the job when another vehicle rear-ended his truck on a freeway, according to court documents shared by Fonseca’s attorneys. After Fonseca filed a workers’ compensation claim, the company accused him of fraud and fired him.

Fonseca sued Walmart for disability discrimination, failure to accommodate his disability, failure to participate in an interactive process, retaliation and failure to prevent discrimination, all in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act. He also accused the company of interference and retaliation in violation of the California Family Rights Act, as well as hostile work environment harassment, wrongful termination, infliction of emotional distress and defamation.

“We believe the evidence at trial showed that Walmart’s defamation of Jesse was part of a broader scheme to use false accusations to force injured truck drivers back to work early or, if not, fire them so Walmart can cut back on workers’ compensation costs.” David deRubertis, Fonseca’s lead trial attorney, said in a statement. “Hopefully, this historic ruling will be the beginning of change from Bentonville.”

The jury awarded Fonseca $25 million in damages and an additional $9.7 million judgment for future and past losses, including emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life.

Walmart officials said they would take further action after the jury’s verdict.

“This outrageous verdict simply does not reflect the straightforward and undisputed facts of this case,” Walmart responded in a statement. “Accordingly, we will pursue all available means.”

After Fonseca was treated at a hospital for his injuries, he filed a workers’ compensation claim and was evaluated by a doctor every few weeks beginning in June 2017 to modify his work restrictions, the lawsuit said.

Fonseca’s work restrictions changed at times, but generally included that he could not push, pull or lift more than five to 10 pounds or drive commercial vehicles. While the restrictions were communicated to Walmart management, they failed to accommodate Fonseca’s needs, his attorneys argued.

The day after the accident, Fonseca was placed on medical leave and Walmart did not explore alternative assignments he could perform, the lawsuit states. Although Fonseca requested that he be allowed to perform modified duties and asked if he could perform desk duty in an office position, he was not allowed to do so, the lawsuit states.

Before leaving, Fonseca told Walmart officials he wanted to go on two family trips that had been planned before the crash, his attorneys said. Fonseca’s doctors at the time wrote restrictions that included him not being able to drive, stoop or stoop. His attorneys claim Walmart hired a private investigator who documented Fonseca driving an RV and bending over several times while on family trips.

In January 2018, Walmart officials called Fonseca and questioned him for about 20 to 30 minutes regarding a report of fraud. They told Fonseca they heard a report that he had been driving a vehicle despite restrictions that said he couldn’t.

Fonseca told them he did not believe he was doing anything wrong since the restrictions prevented him from driving commercial vehicles and he believed he could drive for personal reasons, the lawsuit said.

He had not spoken to anyone at Walmart about the reported fraud again until an official called him in March 2018 and said Fonseca was accused of fraud and would be fired for “gross misconduct and integrity,” according to the lawsuit.

Fonseca tried to discuss his termination with Walmart’s vice president of transportation, who initially said he would get back to Fonseca that day, but later refused to speak with him because he was represented by the workers’ compensation attorney, the lawsuit said.

Months after his termination in November 2018, Fonseca applied for several jobs but did not hear back after he had to disclose that he was fired from Walmart and suspected of committing fraud, according to the lawsuit.