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. We have asked the EEOC Judge to force the Postal Service to provide the NRP Files created by USPS management directly to the EEOC Judge and to each claimant, so that the EEOC Judge will have this highly-relevant information while assessing individual claims for relief. 10. The McConnell Case (NRP Class Action) | Injured Federal Worker You may want to consider friends and family members who observed a change in your personality or emotional state after the NRP. 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. In a relatively short status conference this afternoon, the EEOC Administrative Judge let everyone know that the process is slowly moving forward one step at a time. And they have all been able to complete a review of large numbers of claims in a reasonable amount of time. We encourage every Class Member claimant to fully participate in this stage of the case, so that you can maximize the relief available to you. They would not give me an assignment that fit with my medical restrictions, so I had no option but to retire; or In this way, todays Order marks a significant advance toward individual relief awards for each claimant. As always, we greatly appreciate your patience during this process. At the present time, though, because there is no settlement, we are prepared to represent you on an individual basis to make your claim for recovery with a fee agreement on that basis. 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! That work includes representing you in your individual claim through the entire EEOC claims process. Today we had a very productive two hour video call with EEOC Administrative Judge Roberts-Draper regarding a process to move this case forward. We will promptly update this website as soon as we have news to report. We are dedicated to achieving the best results for you in this case, and we will not let the USPS game of dragging this process out free them from their legal obligations. In that case a final decision has been rendered in favor of the injured workers. View the brief trailer from 12 Years a Slave (2013).. Here are answers to some questions that have been presented by a number of the class members: What if I move or change my contact information? We all recognize this behavior by USPS: deny, deny, dispute, delay, until a Judge orders otherwise. You can access the Declaration (with instructions) by clicking here. We will promptly provide an update on this website as soon as that information is available. We cannot predict how long this process will take. A significant amount of legal work remains to be accomplished as we press forward on every front. The Judge has indicated that during the Status Conference we may be provided information about the EEOCs plan to move the claims process forward. (See EEOC Management Directive 110,Chapter 8, Section XII.C.) Please continue to monitor this website for further updates. A class action complaint for injured on duty postal employees was certified by an EEOC Administrative Judge (AJ) on May 30,2008. The Judge indicated during our status conference last week that an order regarding our filing deadline would be forthcoming soon. If you have medical information related to the harm you experienced as a result of the NRP, you should submit that medical information now if possible. Thank you for all of your continued patience with this case, and we hope to have more progress to report to everyone soon. Twelve Years a Slave: Was the Case of Solomon Northup Exceptional This is just an example; witnesses should include an accurate description of the changes in you that they noticed. Thank you for your support, assistance, and patience throughout this claims process. We strongly agree with this goal, and we pledge to continue our advocacy on behalf of all the claimants that we represent. The call was very lengthy, lasting almost three hours. Yes, the Postal Service should have provided us the NRP file for each person. As soon as the Judge issues a ruling on our motion for extension of time, we will post updated information on this website. As explained by the Judge in the recent order: [T]he U.S. As we learn more about the Administrative Judges plans ahead, we will provide updates on this website. The claims, evidence, and legal briefs for all of our clients' relief claims have been submitted to the EEOC Administrative Judge. The Judge has repeatedly emphasized her strong desire to identify a path for prompt, fair resolution of valid claims for relief. If you need another copy of the Disability Form to complete, please contact us at 585-272-0540. 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. . At Thomas & Solomon LLP, you can have your rights protected and your voice heard by a firm with the resources to hold employers accountable. Class Counsel has proposed a process based on a successful approach used in numerous large-scale class actions. Our proposed Case Management Order calls for immediate processing of 50 initial claims, including opportunities for limited discovery. Indeed, while our attorneys submitted their list of five Special Master candidates, the Postal Service has attempted to delay things by filing objections and multiple appeals to prevent this process from moving forward. She also indicated that the EEOC intends to send a notice out of such website. 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. The Judge ordered USPS to produce the identified documents to us no later than May 28, 2019. As a result of the Judges order, we soon should have all NRP Activity Files in connection with our firms clients. Today we filed our response to the USPS filing, pointing out that the USPS proposal would slow down the processing of these claims for no good reason. My co-workers made fun of me, and told me that I would end up being sent to work for Walmart. 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. 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. If you have trouble accessing the website referenced in the notice from the EEOC, you can call 877-465-4142 for assistance. 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. 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. 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. The EEOC does not require any particular format for medical information; medical reports, print-outs, and medical notes may all be provided. 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. We expect that the Administrative Judge will issue an order regarding these issues some time after the March 20, 2019 status conference. You should include in a Continuation sheet a description of why you concluded or felt that you had to retire or separate at that time.If applicable to you, here are some possible short statements that can help explain what happened: The Judge did clarify that our firms no longer serve as Class Counsel to all claimants, but that we do represent those claimants who have retained us to represent them with their claims. You may email our office at nrpclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com or call us at 585-272-0540. 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. 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. 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. If you have questions about the NRP class action claims process, please review this FAQ section. nrp class action | PostalReporter.com About Thomas & Solomon LLP | Thomas & Solomon Lawyers Employee Rights Class-Action Law Firm Employers who violate employment laws hope that their workers do not contact Thomas & Solomon LLP. The Administrative Judge has not yet announced the process or timeline for reviewing claims. The recording will be available 24 hours a day (7 days a week) until April 9, 2021. To see the Motion that was filed, CLICK HERE. With a letter order on March 26, 2021, the EEOC Office of Federal Operations (EEOC-OFO) dismissed the USPS final action and appeal of the Administrative Judges orders regarding the use of Special Masters to assist with review of the claims. 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. We continue to take every action we can to ensure that this process moves forward as quickly as possible. We appealed this improper action by the Postal Service. 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. If you have any questions about the forms when you receive them, please contact us at 585-272-0540. Thank you. The call was fairly brief. We have filed an extension request with the Judge. Thank you as always for your cooperation and support during the claim review process. 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. The EEOC Judge now has submissions from both sides regarding relief for all Claimants. Today we had another video conference call with the Administrative Judge. We understand that some class members who submitted claims for individual relief have received response letters again from the Postal Service. One important issue was decided during the status conference. Please continue to check our website for updates. You may email our office at nrpclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com or call us at 585-272-0540. On the other hand, if you have not yet retained Class Counsel to represent you in your individual claim, we will not include your name in our appeal from the FADs, and it will be necessary (in an abundance of caution) for you to file your own separate appeal notice to the EEOC before the deadline set forth in the FAD you receive. Name * First Last . Please continue to monitor our website for more updates in the coming weeks. These are strong words from the Judge, indicating her resolve to push forward with the claims process as fast as possible. Following the EEOC Administrative Judges request, the parties each provided additional information to assist in the process to evaluate claimant relief. While Covid-19 continues to keep our office building closed, please know that we are still actively working on this case from our homes. The USPS attorneys are attempting to further delay the awards in this case by filing an improper appeal in the middle of the process. There will be a Spanish translation of the recording also available at the same number. Additional Continuation Sheets and Witness Statement forms are available by clicking here. See below for more information. (If you have already completed that form and submitted it to us, there is no other action needed by you at this time.). Please continue to check this website for updates, and thank you as always for your support and patience throughout this hard-fought case. Please continue to check this website for updates. 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. Our attorneys have just learned that the EEOC has begun sending out notices to claimants regarding the EEOCs website related to this case. 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. Our 30% fee will not be applied to any part of your recovery that you are required to pay back to the United States due to alleged overpayment to you by OWCP or OPM or Social Security. Our legal team has experience achieving successful class-wide settlements in complex cases, but we also have experience pushing forward with litigation if fair settlement cannot be reached with the other side. Thomas & Solomon has sent letters to members of the class in addition to USPS, which was required to notify those individuals of their eligibility to sign their names onto the suit within 10. For most people, it will take less than one hour to complete the Declaration. You can always reject any offer that is made to you by the Postal Service in the future. Thanks to all who have returned Declarations to us. You can send a letter that states "I request a copy of my Claim Form from the Pittman class action," and provide your mailing address. Since no decision has been issued on any of the disputed claims, NO ONE IS ENTITLED TO A FAD. She emphasized, as she has previously, that the process may take some time, due to the very large number of claims. If you have any updated contact information and have not yet provided it to our office, please call us at 585-272-0540 or email us at NRPClassAction@theemploymentattorneys.com. Many of you have asked about the next steps in the EEOC process. Other members of the class must proactively file claims to prove they are members of the class and will then also be entitled to relief. To the best of our knowledge, the EEOC has never created a website devoted to a single case. Our goal, as always, is to push for prompt appropriate relief for the victims of NRP discrimination. * ATTORNEY ADVERTISING * The Order sets out that Class Members who did not retain Class Counsel are not represented by our law firms. (Our firms did not seek any such extension.) As a result of our identification of various processes and systems that could easily be utilized to gather the information needed by the EEOC, the Agency was ordered to provide an update to the EEOC Administrative Judge within a week as to their ability to access and produce such information. Of note, we may request feedback or clarification from some Claimants in the next few weeks. 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. Otherwise, the Postal Service and other employers will continue to discriminate against workers with disabilities. While neither spoke during the video call, EEOC Administrative Judge Roberts-Draper did take several breaks in order to confer with her team and review her notes. For an evaluation of your circumstances and legal options, reach us online here. We are continuing the process of organizing this information as fast as possible. At the end of todays status conference, the Judge noted that there will be subsequent conferences to continue to ensure that the EEOC has all of the information needed to evaluate claimant relief. We recommend emailing such letters to us at NRPclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com or faxing us at 585-272-0574. NO ONE SHOULD BE REQUESTING A FAD and THE AGENCY SHOULD NOT BE ISSUING FADs.. As noted in our February 2021 update, the Judge recently issued an Order setting out a process for reviewing claims in this case. Earlier this week, the EEOC Judge spoke with our legal team about the possibility, in theory, for broad settlement of the claims for relief in this case. Federal courts commonly use Special Masters to assist with adjudication of complex class actions. A copy of the Case Management Order is available by clicking here. So I understood that I had no option but to retire; or Similarly, the Administrative Judge has indicated that she is working remotely on this case (and others). Establishing the foundation of how a company exists and functions, it is perceived as, perhaps, the most profound and steady rule of corporate jurisprudence. In the meantime, we continue to collect and organize a very large amount of claim information for timely submission to the Judge. According to the notice from the EEOC, each claimant has been provided a unique log-in identifier, and each claimant is being asked to confirm their contact information within 30 days. We remain extremely grateful to all who have hired us to represent their interests in this fight against the Postal Service. Postal Service by employees with disabilities. If you are unsatisfied with the Postal Service's final decision on your claim, which would come after the EEOC judge makes a determination, we would represent you in an appeal of that decision to the EEOC in Washington. According to the decision, Phase 1 of NRP consisted largely of reviewing the files and medical records of all these employees; where needed requesting updated medical documentation from the employee; and verifying that current work actually being performed matched the current job offer. Thank you for your cooperation and patience through this lengthy process. In advance of the May 12, 2022 status conference, the EEOC Administrative Judge circulated a new spreadsheet with additional information requested. EEOC rules and guidelines require all parties to be willing to discuss the possibility of settlement with the EEOC Judge. The EEOC Administrative Judge responded that she was not able to comment on those issues at this time, but emphasized that she (and others within the EEOC) are working on this matter each week and are committed to moving things forward as quickly as possible. Last Friday, Judge Roberts-Draper issued a schedule for talking to the lawyers about the possibility of settlement. We will fight the USPS attempt to break apart the certified class and extinguish claims for relief one by one. You should complete, sign and return the Declaration form to our offices as soon as possible. Until the Administrative Judge orders your claim to go forward, there is no action that you need to take at this time. The Judge has not yet made clear exactly how she plans to move forward with reviewing the information or issuing relief decisions. Free shipping for many products! In particular, Phase 1 Class Counsel is responsible for providing updated contact information, including address, telephone number and email address, as well as whether an indication of any deceased claimants. While each of these attempts to delay the action have been rejected, the Administrative Judge has not yet selected a Special Master. NRP Class Action is being handled by Thomas & Solomon LLP. Experience shows that the claims determination process speeds up tremendously after the initial batch of claims is addressed. Important: the phone number referenced in the notice from the EEOC should read 1-877-465-4142, and the correct website link is as follows: https://www.eeoc-nrpphase2.com/Home/portalid/0. If you now would like to retain Class Counsel on an individual basis in an abundance of caution, please contact us at NRPclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com or by calling us at (585) 272-0540 or faxing us at (585) 272-0574. We hope the EEOC will act quickly to restore order to this process. 7. We continue to work with the judge to move this case forward toward a final resolution. Thank you for your continued patience through this process, and for your strong perseverance in the face of the Postal Services stalling tactics. To schedule an employment law attorney consultation, please call or complete the intake form below. The next status conference with the EEOC Judge is scheduled for August 2019. 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. 600 17th Street, Suite 1705-S There is no action needed at this time on your individual claim. It is important for the information in your Declaration to be accurate, but it is ok for you to provide approximate dates if necessary. 2. Thomas & Solomon LLP - [About the Firm] 693 East Avenue Rochester, NY 14607 (877) 272-4066 (telephone M-F 8:30AM-5:30PM EST) (585) 272-0574 (facsimile) (585) 625-0274 (new temporary facsimile) NRP Class Action Update December 2020 added by on December 14, 2020 View all posts by Rick Owens USPS NRP Class Action Lawsuit Settlement - Juris Laws My work hours were cut down so much, and my pay was reduced so badly, I had no option but to retire. My Supervisor complained about my limitations. In addition, the Administrative Judge has also requested that our offices eliminate a small number of duplicate entries. It was owned by several entities, from Thomas and Solomon LLP to Thomas & Solomon LLP, it was hosted by Media Temple Inc., A2 Hosting Inc. and others. The Postal Service has sent forms to be completed by some claimants. We are responding to each call and email in the order received. . RULING REGARDING NRP ACTIVITY FILES It is undisputed that NRP Activity files were produced to Phase I Class Counsel during discovery. 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. Without your patience and persistence, the Postal Service would have won without a fight. Please send our office a copy of any letters that you receive from the Postal Service as soon as possible. No, your 30% contingency fee is only on the value of relief that you receive. A contingency fee is only paid if we obtain a recovery for you. 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. Please also send us a copy of the initial claim form and any supporting documents you submitted to the postal service, the dispute letter, and the Final Agency Decision. Introduction. 5. My work hours were cut down so much, and my pay was reduced so badly, I had no option but to retire. It is important to state the name of the deceased class member, and the contact information for the estate (or surviving relative). We are hopeful that these additional resources will assist the Administrative Judge in the evaluation of the more than 28,000 claims that were filed. You may want to include specific examples of statements that were made to you on your Continuation sheet. Let us help you to fight for your rights. 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. Furthermore, the Administrative Judge directed both parties to resubmit an additional copy of claimant documents submitted previously. Or if you were told that no work would be available for you, you should use a Continuation sheet to describe how you learned that, and an approximate date. (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. Please continue to monitor this website over the upcoming weeks for additional important information. The status conference scheduled for September 26, 2019 was cancelled by the Administrative Judge. We have recently received a final decision from the EEOC regarding our appeal. Unfortunately, while it has been more than a year since the Judge initially ordered that up to five Special Masters be used in this process, no claims have yet been evaluated and we do not believe that any large volume of claims will be evaluated by fall of 2021. 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. 9. The Judge said she will schedule the next conference after she evaluates the information provided in connection with todays call. The Administrative Judge granted our request for additional time to submit evidence in response to the USPS argument that some claims missed the filing deadline. If you retain us, your total contingency fee payment will be 30%. It is worth noting that on the video call was EEOC Administrative Judge McCauley and a data person from the EEOC. We continue to fight for justice for all of the claimants in this case. Again, if you have not yet provided us with a Disability Form (Supplemental Declaration Regarding Disability), you must provide that form to us right away so that it can be filed with the Judge by March 31.

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