XPO announces pregnancy policy amid calls for Congress probe
Nearly 100 Democratic members of Congress — including four of Connecticut’s five representatives — on Tuesday called for an investigation into alleged labor violations by XPO Logistics, a move that came the same day the Greenwich Fortune 500 company announced a new pregnancy policy.
A letter calling for the probe was signed by Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro, Elizabeth Esty, John Larson and 93 other U.S. representatives. It responded to recent pieces by The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and PBS’ “NewsHour,” which reported pregnancy discrimination, sexual harassment, unsafe working conditions and suppression of labor organization involving XPO employees across the country. Two weeks earlier, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., joined eight other senators to launch a similar investigation.
“Hundreds and thousands of workers could be at risk at XPO Logistics facilities if the aforementioned allegations are accurate,” the Congress members wrote in the letter, which asked for a hearing on the company, to the leaders of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. “While the current issues may be local and isolated, further investigation and oversight should be
executed to ensure that hundreds and thousands of workers nationwide are not at further risk.”
In a statement Tuesday, XPO said it had launched an independent investigation in response to the reported mistreatment of pregnant workers at a Memphis, Tenn. warehouse. The facility processes boxes of iPhones and other devices for Verizon Wireless.
XPO also announced Tuesday a new policy for the care and support of pregnant workers that includes paid family leave, pregnancy and postpartum benefits and flexible working arrangements. Eligible workers would receive their regular base wages while they used their accommodations and would still qualify for pay increases during
that time.
“We have an absolute commitment to providing a safe workplace for all our employees, (and) we take seriously recent allegations concerning one of our warehouses,” the company said, in part, in the statement. “When the investigation is completed, we are committed to implementing any recommended improvements. At the same time, we’re taking proactive steps to enhance our policies.”
In a responding statement, DeLauro said XPO’s announcement was a “welcome first step to ensure pregnant workers are provided the appropriate accommodations for their health and the health of their baby... I look forward to ensuring the company makes good on these policies, and I urge other companies to follow suit.”
Among the allegations, two women said they suffered
miscarriages this year while working at the Memphis plant investigated by The New York Times.
One of the women, 19year-old Ceeadria Walker, told The Times she gave her supervisor a doctor’s note that recommended fewer hours on her feet to avoid injury or pregnancy complications. Walker was allowed to focus on paperwork on some days, but she told The Times she spent most of July on a conveyorbelt line lifting 45-pound boxes. In August, she miscarried.
The allegations against XPO extend beyond Tennessee. In California, the company misclassified short-haul truck drivers at major ports as independent contractors instead of employees, making thousands of them ineligible for unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation or disability pay, according to
The Los Angeles Times.
In Lockport, N.Y., two workers were reportedly killed in June when they were crushed while unloading cargo at an XPOoperated facility.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, whose district covers Fairfield County, was the sole Connecticut Congress member not to sign the letter. He supports the letter, however, and “finds the accusations of discrimination, harassment and violations by XPO to be very disturbing and in need of immediate address,” said Patrick Malone, a spokesman for Himes.
XPO is headquartered at 5 American Lane, in the northwest corner of Greenwich. It ranked No. 186 on this year’s Fortune 500 list, with a market value of about $9 billion. It operates in 32 countries, with more than 98,000 employees, according to its website.