That means that your claim will have to be processed and reviewed by the EEOC Administrative Judge before the Postal Service will be required to issue a Final Decision. The claims, evidence, and legal briefs for all of our clients' relief claims have been submitted to the EEOC Administrative Judge. The bottom line remains as before: there is no indication at this time that the Agency is prepared to make any settlement offer to any claimants. Experience shows that the claims determination process speeds up tremendously after the initial batch of claims is addressed. Postal Service by employees with disabilities. Again, there is no need for you to take any action at this time regarding the possibility of settlement. As previously reported, we have filed an extension request with the Judge. The Judge set deadlines by which the parties must submit their portions of the spreadsheet. However, the employee must file the claim for damages by April 12, 2018. . To accommodate the requesting parties, the Administrative Judge extended the deadline to object until August 28, 2020. Therefore, these activity files should already be in the possession of Phase I Class Counsel. Each state has different laws governing this issue, and we recommend that you consult with someone in your area about planning your estate. If you are represented by our offices and have changed your contact information, including telephone number, mailing address, or email address, please make sure to promptly update such information with our offices. We wanted to reach out and give a quick update on the case, and answer some questions that have been raised. In response to the Administrative Judges February Order setting out a process to review claims by the use of Special Masters, the Postal Service filed a motion seeking to both delay the case and encourage as many class members as possible to withdraw from the case. Please continue to monitor our website for updates. The next status conference is set for January 24, 2020. The Administrative Judge held a video status conference today, and shared some news about the EEOC's plans for moving this case forward. Please note: we are using email to send these forms to our clients to the greatest extent possible. If you receive a request for information from us, please reply as soon as possible. Please continue to check this website for updates. In the meantime, we continue to collect and organize a very large amount of claim information for timely submission to the Judge. The Administrative Judge largely asked her questions of the Agency, and ordered that certain missing information be added to the spreadsheet promptly. My Supervisor complained about my limitations. By doing so, the EEOC Administrative Judge is hopeful that unnecessary delays are avoided. For example, we reported that there had been some confusing information provided by the EEOCs administrator. 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. Significantly, the EEOC Administrative Judge made clear that only Thomas & Solomon LLP and Kator, Parks, Weiser & Harris PLLC, along with the Agency, will be working directly with the Judge both during the call itself and as we move forward with this process. v. Megan J. Brennan, Postmaster General, United States Postal Service, EEOC . Nevertheless, todays Order reflects the Judges strong desire to move the process forward decisively. A copy of the Case Management Order is available by clicking here. We understand that there is some confusion as to the date when the spreadsheet submissions are due. She also stated that she will continue speaking to the lawyers during the next few months about the possibility of settlement. At the May 12, 2022 status conference, the EEOC Administrative Judge was once again joined by EEOC Administrative Judge McCauley and the data attorney from the EEOC. In 2006, Sandra McConnell was reviewed under the NRP in the USPS Western New York District. Please call us if you have any questions about this. The judge stressed that the EEOC is actively weighing different ways to move the process forward. Click here for a copy of the notice of appeal filed on July 12, 2018. We understand that this has been a long and frustrating journey, but as your attorneys, we will continue to take every action possible to help the Judge move this process forward! You will also need to fill out the Declaration. We do not know which claimants will have their claims selected for a hearing, how the EEOC will make those selections, or how the hearings will work. The final appeal decision in the case was issued on March 9, 2018, and is available at NRPclassaction.com. During the call, we voiced the frustration of our clients as to the continuous delay tactics used by the Agency that has made this process nearly fifteen years long and not yet complete. Please do not give up on your claims for relief! 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. We respond promptly to inquiries. Name * First Last . When the EEOC notice is issued, we will post a copy of it on this website. NRP Class Action Lawsuit Update - December, 2020 Posted on December 14, 2020 Status Update We wanted to reach out and give a quick update on the case, and answer some questions that have been raised. At Thomas & Solomon LLP, we forcefully protect those rights. Please also send us a copy of the forms as the Postal Service has NOT sent copies to your attorneys. Accordingly, you need to provide us with this information NOW in order to maintain your claims for relief from the Postal Service. Pursuant to the Administrative Judges Order approving the use of Special Masters, Thomas & Solomon LLP and Kator, Parks, Weiser & Harris PLLC have already submitted a list of five potential Special Masters who have great experience in handling large number of claims similar to the claims in this case. If you have not previously retained our firms but you wish to do so at this time, please call 585-272-0540 in order to request a retainer agreement for you to sign. If you need additional continuation sheets or witness statements, you can download additional copies from the website www.nrpclassaction.com. Judge Roberts-Draper indicated that she would issue a written order providing her decisions on some pending procedural motions. A lengthy status conference was held with the Administrative Judge on May 13, 2019. Pursuant to the Judges order, we will present the USPS attorneys with a list of all pages that were missing (or otherwise unreadable) from the USPS production of NRP Activity Files for Claimants who hired our law firms. In the past few weeks, we received a very large number of calls and emails related to this case. Our suggested claim form is easy to complete. They indicated that I would lose my job and my retirement benefits, so I felt I had no option except to retire; or If you are a person who is hard of hearing or deaf, and you need an alternative method of receiving the information, please reach out to our office directly via email at nrpclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com or by telephone at 585-272-0540. As noted in our February 2021 update, the Judge recently issued an Order setting out a process for reviewing claims in this case. First, the Administrative Judge noted the concerns that we submitted regarding the EEOCs mailing and website. In advance of the May 12, 2022 status conference, the EEOC Administrative Judge circulated a new spreadsheet with additional information requested. Please provide our office a copy of any letters that you receive from the Postal Service as soon as possible. We recommend emailing such letters to us at NRPclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com or faxing us at (585) 272-0574. Because this is not a settlement, we are agreeing to represent each individual class member who retains us through the individual EEOC claims process. They likely worked at some point between May 5, 2006 and July 1, 2011 in a modified limited duty position, a rehabilitation position, or perhaps in a light duty position. We are mailing Claim Declaration forms to all of the Class Members who have retained our firms to represent them in the claims process. You may email our office at nrpclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com or call us at 585-272-0540. If claimants appeal is heard by OFO, the Agencys decision can be upheld or the case can be remanded to an AJ in that claimants geographical area to determine damages. So I understood that I had no option but to retire; or, I was told that I would be sent to work for Walmart; or, They indicated that I would lose my job and my retirement benefits, so I felt I had no option except to retire; or, They would not give me an assignment that fit with my medical restrictions, so I had no option but to retire; or. On the one hand, the EEOC Judge is clearly interested in prompt forward action for this case, but on the other hand the EEOC has never handled a case with this many individual claims. Here is a copy of the Order. Here are 10 things for every claimant to know RIGHT NOW: 1. Please check this website for an update after the Status Conference on March 4, 2022. The EEOC has repeatedly stated that it is not necessary to provide medical support in order to obtain an award of compensatory damages. We all owe much of our success in this case to the unity, strength, and perseverance that the Class has shown in the face of unceasing attacks by the Postal Service for more than ten years. The Judge partially granted our motion. In addition to issuing this order regarding NRP Activity Files, the EEOC Judge also explained that she is in the process of organizing all of the documents and information submitted by all claimants in this case. The USPS attorneys sought to use the USPS March 17, 2021 appeal as a way to stall the case further and challenge the Administrative Judges authority. USPS asks that the EEOC simply take their word that all Class Members were properly notified in March 2018, despite evidence to the contrary. Our contact information is as follows: Address:693 East AvenueRochester, NY 14607, Email Address:NRPclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com. Please note, if you reached out to our office recently and have not yet heard back from us, we are returning calls in the order received. Last Friday, Judge Roberts-Draper issued a schedule for talking to the lawyers about the possibility of settlement. Salomon v A Salomon & Co Ltd [1896] UKHL 1, [1897] AC 22 is a landmark UK company law case. The Judge did not approve our request for NRP Activity Files to be provided regarding Claimants who did not hire our law firms, but said that she would wait to see the filings regarding those claims to determine whether she will order USPS to provide her with those NRP Activity Files at a later date. There will be a Spanish translation of the recording also available at the same number. The Administrative Judge thanked us for providing the information, and told us that the EEOC already addressed some of the concerns that we raised. Please send our office a copy of any letters that you receive from the Postal Service as soon as possible. Therefore, please spend an hour of your day to complete, sign and return the Declaration form to us no later than March 25, 2019. On March 8, 2021, we followed the EEOC Administrative Judges orders, and filed a list of five potential Special Masters who can assist with processing the claims in this case. The EEOC may award you up to a maximum of $300,000 for proven harm caused by the NRP, including damages for pain, suffering and emotional distress. She said that in the coming weeks, the EEOC will issue a notice to all of the claimants about the EEOC website. The National Reassessment Process (NRP) is a USPS program that reviews all injured-on-duty employees serving in limited duty and/or rehabilitation positions. You are also allowed to use your own paper. 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. However, settlement is not possible in every case. As a general reminder: if you hired our law firms to represent you, we will respond to any and all requests by the EEOC or the Postal Service for information about your claim, and our offices will contact you if more information is needed. are not a guarantee of whether any recovery may be obtained in this case, or how much will be awarded. If you retain us and you turn down some relief that is offered as part of your claim, you would pay no contingency fee related to that rejected relief. We promised the Judge we would do everything we can to help the EEOC issue claim determinations as soon as possible. The Judge issued an order today, providing us with an extra 90 days to file submissions for our clients. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Trackmaster Thomas & Friends Train Tank Engine - Red Passenger Coach - Hit Toy at the best online prices at eBay! There is no need at this time to send a copy of the Pittman claim form to our offices. In other words, a process starting with 50 claims can ramp up to 500 claims, and so on. We eagerly await the next conference with the Court and will provide an update when one has been scheduled. NRP Class Action is being handled by Thomas & Solomon LLP. We will provide updated information regarding the process on this website. To the best of our knowledge, the Postal Service has disputed every individuals claim for relief. The . The Postal Service has sent forms to be completed by some claimants. The EEOC Office of Federal Operations (EEOC-OFO) dismissed another USPS final action and appeal of the Administrative Judges orders regarding the use of Special Masters to assist with review of the claims. 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. My Manager told me that I might be sent to work for Walmart or another company. Attention: The McConnell Case (NRP Class Action) has been resolved in favor of the claimants: ie Postal Employees. The agency's health and human resources manager and Workers Compensation Office director ran an initiative, the National Reassessment Program (NRP), ostensibly designed to cut costs by eliminating non-productive 'make work' - jobs with no value to the organisation. $24.99. Clients who would like to submit questions for us to address, please send your questions via email to nrpclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com or send us a letter to Thomas & Solomon LLP, 693 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607. Employee Rights Class-Action Law Firm Employers who violate employment laws hope that their workers do not contact Thomas & Solomon LLP. Our goal is to get this matter resolved in a fair way as quickly as possible. The best way to get guidance on your specific legal issue is to contact a lawyer. Again, the Judge demonstrated a strong desire to move the claims process forward as quickly as possible. The purpose of this class action is to remedy a harm that has adversely affected over 28,000 individuals nationwide in the Postal Service. The EEOC Administrative Judge may allow the parties to conduct discovery of documents and information, and take sworn depositions related to claims. My work hours were cut down so much, and my pay was reduced so badly, I had no option but to retire. 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. The Judge has repeatedly emphasized her strong desire to identify a path for prompt, fair resolution of valid claims for relief. Of note, we may request feedback or clarification from some Claimants in the next few weeks. We will post an update on this website shortly after the Status Conference. It has come to our attention that a number of people who were Class Members in the Pittman v. USPS class action have been receiving letters from USPS about that settlement process. There is no need for you to take any action at this time regarding the possibility of settlement. The Postal Service attacks Class Counsel's role in the process, renaming them as "Phase I Class Counsel," and referring to Ms. McConnell as "Phase I Class Agent.". She emphasized, as she has previously, that the process may take some time, due to the very large number of claims. Jul 19, 2022 A USPS NRP class action lawsuit claims that the Agency discriminated against workers with disabilities and deprived them of their jobs because of their physical limitations. The Administrative Judge has not yet announced the process or timeline for reviewing claims. EUC! 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. However, there is no indication at this time that the Agency is prepared to make any settlement offer to any individual claimant. At this time, the Administrative Judge has not yet made her selection of Special Masters. You should mark the boxes for every statement that applies to your situation. If you receive nothing as a result of your claim, you would owe us nothing. * indicates required information Many class members who submitted claims for individual relief have received response letters from the Postal Service. The Judge reiterated that Special Masters will be used to speed up the claim review process, and the Judge rejected all USPS objections to the use of Special Masters. The Declaration packet we mailed to you includes a sample Witness Statement form that can be used for this purpose. You may email our office at nrpclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com or call us at 585-272-0540. As a reminder, if you have any additional documents that you would like to be included in the final production to the Administrative Judge, and you have not yet provided them to our office, we must have them by March 6, 2020. This is a big victory for all claimants, and a giant step toward conclusion of this process. This is just an example; witnesses should include an accurate description of the changes in you that they noticed. We strongly agree with this goal, and we pledge to continue our advocacy on behalf of all the claimants that we represent. (585) 272-0574 (fax), My Manager told me that I had no other option but to retire; or, I learned that my limited duty job was going to be taken away from me, and that there would be nothing left for me. It is important to state the name of the deceased class member, and the contact information for the estate (or surviving relative). If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at nrpclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com or call us at 585-272-0540. In the near future, we will address frequently asked questions regarding the form and evidence on this website. 600 17th Street, Suite 1705-S The conference lasted a little over two hours. Please know that we are fighting for you, just as we have done for over 10 years. In other words, please do not contact the EEOC or the Postal Service about your claim without checking with us first. After that, the EEOC Administrative Judge assigned to this case will issue an order regarding the claims determination process. The main law suit challenging the NRP was a class action filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) based on disability discrimination -- McConnell v. USPS, EEOC Appeal No. Upon your death, all of your assets will pass along, either under the terms of a will or (if you have no will) pursuant to what the law prescribes. As of July 15, 2019, we have filed a legal brief (Statement) and evidence on behalf of all Claimants who are represented by our law firms. As soon as the Judge issues a ruling on our motion for extension of time, we will post updated information on this website. 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. Merely submitting the claim form does not endanger your disability or social security claims. If you have not yet completed and returned the Declaration form to us, please do so as soon as possible. We hope that this will assist the Administrative Judge in getting all the claims in this case reviewed and decided in an efficient manner. Rochester NY, 14607 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. USPS has submitted disputes to the EEOC for over 28,000 claims; to the best of our knowledge USPS has provisionally and/or partially accepted less than one percent of claims, and has made zero payments to any claimants. If the EEOC orders the Postal Service to pay attorney fees related to your claim, those fees would come directly to us and not relate in any way to the 30% contingency fee payment.Of course, as the case proceeds, we are unable to predict what the final outcome will be. The Judge said she will schedule the next conference after she evaluates the information provided in connection with todays call. The comprehensive spreadsheet must be filed by July 18, 2022. As a result of the Judges order, we soon should have all NRP Activity Files in connection with our firms clients. Now the EEOC Judge must evaluate the individual claims to determine what relief is appropriate for each claimant. The next status conference with the EEOC Judge is scheduled for August 2019. Of note, Judge Roberts-Draper continued to express a strong desire to expedite the claims process in order to provide appropriate relief to claimants. To recap: in July 2020 the Judge issued an order setting up the use of Special Masters to speed up the claim review process, but USPS argued that the Judge lacked authority to use Special Masters and could not force USPS to pay for Special Masters; the Judges recent order, citing our legal briefing, brushed aside USPS objections. The Postal Service, as well as several other attorneys representing claimants, requested additional time to object to the Administrative Judges Order approving the use of Special Masters. She said that not all claims will receive a hearing, but that the EEOC would choose certain claims to be heard by EEOC Administrative Judges. Our goal is to help you submit appropriate information in order to obtain all relief that is possible for your situation. As always, we greatly appreciate your patience during this process. The judge noted that there would need to be hearings to address questions on some claims, but that she believed that she had sufficient information on some claims to issue relief decisions. We hope the EEOC will act quickly to restore order to this process. Additional Continuation Sheets and Witness Statement forms are available by clicking here. 3. Today we heard from EEOC Administrative Judge regarding the ongoing effort to compile claims information in an excel format. Please continue to monitor this website for updates on the case. Thank you for your support, assistance, and patience throughout this claims process. We will provide you with written instructions on what to include to support your claim. In order to access the recorded message, you will need to call a special phone number. We have presented the Judge with many options on ways to quickly move the relief process forward, and we continue to do everything we can to help get relief into your hands. Like the Judge, our ongoing pledge to you is to continue pushing the claims process forward as far as possible and as fast as possible. This has been a long and hard-fought battle against the Postal Service, but the end is in sight. Because of each of you and your willingness to speak out about the injustices you and others like you faced, the Agency has been found to have discriminated against injured employees and now they must face the consequences for their actions and provide relief to those people who are found to have been injured! We are responding to each call and email in the order received. In the case of Sandra McConnell, et al. This is a good development, but a lengthy fight remains in order to obtain a just and fair result. Our offices filed a motion for sanctions regarding the repeated failure of the Postal Service to comply with the Administrative Judges Order to produce a single spreadsheet with all claimant information and instead hiding behind an argument already rejected by the Judge. My Supervisors or co-workers called me lazy due to my restrictions. In the claim submission to the EEOC Judge, we will also provide a legal brief containing argument in favor of all the relief possible for you.