The EEOC Decision in this case recognizes that many class members had no option other than retirement, separation, or resignation as a result of the NRP. If you quit now, the Postal Service will get away with causing you harm, and justice will not be served. Rochester NY, 14607 On September 26, 2022, Phase 1 Class Counsel and the Agency had a video conference with the Administrative Judge where the spreadsheet project was discussed in detail. We continue to work with the judge to move this case forward toward a final resolution. Our proposal recognizes the limits on the EEOCs case-processing capacity, as well as the Postal Services unyielding opposition to fair resolution of your claims. Yes, we will include any documents you have provided to our office. We continue to take every action we can to ensure that this process moves forward as quickly as possible. The Agency is responsible for providing the remainder of the information, which includes but is not limited to: date of hire; separation date; separation reason; and which claims are alleged by claimant and which claims the Agency disputes. We believe the Postal Service must be held accountable for the consequences of its discrimination. Due to these changes, please be aware that there may be delays in our offices responding to any inquiries. With this fast, favorable decision by EEOC-OFO, the course is now set to have the claims review process commence in the very near future. There is nothing further you need to do at this time, but we will be in touch in the coming weeks if we need anything additional from you. We recommend that you retain the claim form documents for your records. The EEOC has repeatedly stated that it is not necessary to provide medical support in order to obtain an award of compensatory damages. The EEOC does not require any particular format for medical information; medical reports, print-outs, and medical notes may all be provided. Various parties, including USPS, objected to terms of the judge's order, and it is our understanding that the judge is still considering those objections and possible changes to her plan to proceed. Our offices and the Postal Service also worked on adding additional claimant information to the spreadsheet. We will provide you with written instructions on what to include to support your claim. My Supervisor complained about my limitations. USPS proposes that all Class Members move forward independently through a process that seeks to hide evidence from the Class Members and the EEOC Administrative Judge, seeks to endlessly hold up decisions on the relief claims, and ultimately undercuts every Class Member's claim for relief. We cannot predict how long this process will take. As mentioned in our March 4, 2022 update, the EEOC Administrative Judge was joined at the last conference by an EEOC data person, as well as another Administrative Judge. EEOC guidance sets forth an orderly process for the Administrative Judge to review and adjudicate disputed individual claims after class-wide discrimination has been found. However, the employee must file the claim for damages by April 12, 2018. . Once you return to us a signed completed Declaration form and any other documents supporting your claim, we will prepare a complete claim package (including legal argument) for submission to the EEOC Judge. Our team is standing by! For those Class Members who have designated Class Counsel as their representatives during the relief process, we will be sending you a form to be completed and returned to be used to support your claim. Following the EEOC Administrative Judges request, the parties each provided additional information to assist in the process to evaluate claimant relief. Along with your completed Declaration form, you can also provide us with: a Continuation Sheet to provide additional information; Witness Statements from those close to you who witnessed the impact of the NRP on your life and health; and other records that you would like considered along with your claim. EEOC rules and guidelines require all parties to be willing to discuss the possibility of settlement with the EEOC Judge. This has been a long and hard-fought battle against the Postal Service, but the end is in sight. The United States Postal Service (USPS) has fired or forced out nearly 44,000 employees who were injured on the job since 2006 through its National Reassessment Process (NRP), according to a. However, before you turn down any relief, you should speak with Class Counsel to explore your options. Our office has filed an emergency motion for reconsideration of the EEOC Judges decision in order to ensure that all claimants have sufficient time to complete the paperwork. It is important to state the name of the deceased class member, and the contact information for the estate (or surviving relative). Before calling, please review the instructions carefully and be sure to check www.NRPclassaction.com, because the answer to your question may be answered there. We have submitted a proposed plan to the Administrative Judge for consideration, but no order has yet been issued. My co-workers made fun of me, and told me that I would end up being sent to work for Walmart. We have filed an Emergency Petition for Enforcement with the EEOC, seeking an order directing the Postal Service to withdraw premature FADs, thus clearing the way for the Administrative Judge to review relief claims and develop the record as appropriate. The Judge answered this question explicitly, and the answer is No. The Judge noted that there are two ways this case will be resolved: (1) either through the special master process; OR (2) if a claimant opts out and seeks a FAD. We are very grateful for the Judges willingness to discuss the possibility of settlement. As soon as the Judge issues a written ruling on our motion for extension of time, we will post updated information on this website. If the notice letter you received from the Postal Service states that the USPS is disputing part or all of your claim, your individual claim is to be presented to the EEOC Administrative Judge. Fair settlement is not possible in every case, so we must be prepared for continued litigation of your claims. Because this is not a settlement, we are agreeing to represent each individual class member who retains us through the individual EEOC claims process. Phase 1 Class Counsel asked about whether special masters will be utilized going forward, and requested additional information about the process that will be utilized in order to evaluate the claims. In 2006, Sandra McConnell was reviewed under the NRP in the USPS Western New York District. This is just an example; witnesses should include an accurate description of the changes in you that they noticed. * Damage awards in other lawsuits are only identified as an example of the types of settlements obtained and After we receive your completed, signed Declaration, we will include your NRP file, as well as any documents that you may have provided to our office in the past or with your Declaration. Please check this website for updates. Recently many claimants have been asking about the timeline as to when claims will be evaluated. Today, we had another video conference call with the Administrative Judge, lasting more than one hour. We are mailing Claim Declaration forms to all of the Class Members who have retained our firms to represent them in the claims process. The types of relief you could be entitled to are based on your particular situation and may include lost pay and benefits, reinstatement to your job at the Postal Service, along with reinstatement of any accommodations the Postal Service withdrew as part of the NRP. After that, the EEOC Administrative Judge assigned to this case will issue an order regarding the claims determination process. We are cautiously optimistic that 2023 will be a year of significant forward movement on your claims. * We also noted that even their responses to the EEOC Administrative Judges questioning was further demonstration of their pattern of behavior: delay, deny, delay, deny. The Judge stated that she is in the process of organizing all of the claim records, and that she hopes to begin reviewing the substance of those claims later this Spring. Our class action lawsuit attorneys have a national reputation for successfully handling class action lawsuits of all types and sizes. If we do get a recovery for you, from the final award that you receive in this case, we would be entitled to 30% of the gross, pre-tax total. Go ahead and read through the instructions we provided and do the best that you can. We will take all steps necessary to provide the Judge with timely submissions for all our clients. We wanted to reach out and give a quick update on the case, and answer some questions that have been raised. The best way to provide this information is to email us at nrpclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com. The EEOC previously approved us as Class Counsel in this case, and we will continue to advocate on behalf of the class as a whole. The claims, evidence, and legal briefs for all of our clients' relief claims have been submitted to the EEOC Administrative Judge. While Covid-19 continues to keep our office building closed, please know that we are still actively working on this case from our homes. Last Friday, Judge Roberts-Draper issued a schedule for talking to the lawyers about the possibility of settlement. She also stated that she will continue speaking to the lawyers during the next few months about the possibility of settlement. The Judge set deadlines by which the parties must submit their portions of the spreadsheet. The Judge ordered USPS to produce the identified documents to us no later than May 28, 2019. Additionally, if you have recently updated your contact information with our office, please make sure to also update your information with the EEOC through the third party administrator. Summary: The requirements of correctly constituting a limited company. (585) 272-0540 (tel) We will represent you before an EEOC administrative judge. Like the other recent conferences, this one focused on the spreadsheet that the parties have been compiling for the last several months, at the direction of the Administrative Judge. We hope the EEOC will act quickly to restore order to this process. View the brief trailer from 12 Years a Slave (2013).. For those claimants represented by Thomas & Solomon and Kator, Parks, Weiser & Harris PLLC, we have recorded a message that not only provides a further update of the Judges Order, but also responds to many frequently asked questions. For example, if a manager told you that you had no other option than to retire, you should write out on a Continuation sheet a brief description of who said it to you and an approximate date, to the best you can. A class action complaint for injured on duty postal employees was certified by an EEOC Administrative Judge (AJ) on May 30,2008. While the Agency once again attempted to further delay the matter by claiming that some of the data such as disability status was not something they had access to in the requested format, our offices were quick to point out systems in which such information could be accessed by the Postal Service. No. Yes, we can email you a copy of your responses, but please be aware that the survey information came through to our office in an excel file, so the responses are not necessarily easy to follow. We were not involved in the process of USPS accessing Pittman settlement documents, and those documents do not directly relate to the NRP Class Action. Citing to our legal briefing, the Judge clarified that USPS must pay all charges for the Special Masters. Just do the best that you can with any information that you know. The Judges Order explains that the very question of FADs is premature, baffling and utterly irrelevant at this point. The Judge emphasized that the Postal Service was required to wait for the Judge to issue a decision on claimant relief before issuing a FAD. The Judge has indicated generally that a reasonable extension of time will be allowed, but the Judge has not yet issued a written order. We eagerly await the next conference with the Court and will provide an update when one has been scheduled. The Class is represented by Thomas & Solomon LLP, and Kator, Parks, Weiser & Harris, PLLC. We will fight the USPS attempt to break apart the certified class and extinguish claims for relief one by one. If you have not yet retained Class Counsel to represent you in your individual claim, and you now would like to retain Class Counsel, please contact us at NRPclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com or by calling us at (585) 272-0540 or faxing us at (585) 272-0574. EUC! However, settlement is not possible in every case. Please note: if you previously sent supporting documents to us, you do not need to re-send those documents to us. The Declaration packet we mailed to you includes a sample Witness Statement form that can be used for this purpose. We will file your Declaration (along with additional information and legal argument) to the EEOC Judge. No. We recommend emailing such letters to us at NRPclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com or faxing us at 585-272-0574. There is not a magic number for how much information should be submitted. You may want to include specific examples of statements that were made to you on your Continuation sheet. Of course, please feel free to call our office again at 585-272-0540, and you may be able to get through. Put another way, for all claimants who hired our law firms, we will not cease our fight on your behalf until the Postal Service provides a fair and reasonable resolution, or there is a final EEOC decision on your claim, whichever occurs first. It may take a few days for us to work through this large volume of inquiries, but we are dedicated to handling every question from our clients in a timely manner. We keep track of our clients' contact information, and we can provide that to USPS or the EEOC Administrative Judge when they need it. Please note: we are using email to send these forms to our clients to the greatest extent possible. Please check this website for an update after the Status Conference on March 4, 2022. Thank you for all of your patience. Thank you as always for your cooperation and support during the claim review process. Appeal pending. The EEOC Administrative Judge may allow the parties to conduct discovery of documents and information, and take sworn depositions related to claims. The EEOC Judge now has submissions from both sides regarding relief for all Claimants. We have filed an extension request with the Judge. Please continue to check the website for updates, but based on extension, the spreadsheet will now be completed with all claimants who have retained our law firm in this case, and submitted to the EEOC on September 18, 2022. For example, a family member might be able to provide a short statement confirming what you experienced at that time, and explaining that you were forced to leave your job long before you planned on leaving.In sum, by providing additional accurate information to the EEOC Judge regarding your experience, you can help the Judge understand your constructive discharge claim.