Walmart must pay nearly $35M to truck driver after accusing him of fraud, firing him
Walmart called the verdict 'outrageous' and plans to keep fighting
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Walmart is being ordered to pay a former truck driver nearly $35 million after a jury determined it falsely accused him of committing fraud before firing him, according to court documents and several reports.
Jesus "Jesse" Fonseca — a former Walmart truck driver for 14 years — was awarded $25 million in punitive damages, plus $9.7 million for lost wages and benefits and non-economic harm by a San Bernardino County jury this week, according to court documents and a tweet from one of his lawyers, David deRubertis of The deRubertis Law Firm.
The jury awarded the former employee after determining that Fonseca did not violate Walmart's integrity policy under its statement of ethics, one of his attorneys told CBS.
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"We showed at trial that Jesse did not violate any policy — let alone, an 'integrity' policy," deRubertis tweeted.
A Walmart store is seen in Florida City on May 6, 2024. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
However, Walmart called the verdict "outrageous" and plans to continue fighting this case. The verdict "simply does not reflect the straightforward and uncontested facts of this case. Accordingly, we will pursue all available remedies," the company said in a statement to FOX Business.
In the original 2019 lawsuit against Walmart, obtained by CBS, Fonseca claimed he was injured when another semi-truck slammed into his Walmart semi-truck from behind when he was working a shift in June 2017.
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FOX Business reached out to one of Fonseca's attorneys, Mo Eldessouky at Eldessouky Law, for comment.
A Walmart store is seen in Miami on May 2, 2024. ( Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
In the suit, Fonseca argued that he filed a workers' compensation claim for his injuries. He was allegedly instructed by doctors not to push, pull or lift anything that exceeded 10 pounds. He was also advised to stop driving a commercial vehicle, the suit continued.
The suit further alleged that Walmart failed to accommodate these work restrictions. The suit also claimed that Fonseca was terminated while on medical leave after the company surveilled him and discovered he drove a personal vehicle.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMT | WALMART INC. | 89.46 | -0.97 | -1.08% |
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Fonseca thought he was allowed to drive personal vehicles, and was only restricted from commercial driving.
"This triggered an internal Walmart fraud investigation. The internal fraud investigator found Jesse to be honest and credible; they found no fraud. Despite this, consistent with Walmart’s policy for this situation, the fraud investigator’s report was turned over to Walmart's ethics department," deRubertis tweeted.