Sarah Mirando  |  June 29, 2013

Category: Legal News

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USPS Reaches $17.3M Disability Discrimination Settlement

By Anne Bucher

 

USPSThe U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has agreed to pay nearly $17.3 million to settle allegations that the agency discriminated against employees with disabilities.

The class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of 41,000 past and current USPS workers whose hours may have been restricted because of permanent disabilities from 2000-2012. The plaintiffs allege that the USPS violated the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, a law that prevents federal agencies from discriminating against disabled workers.


In 2000, Edmond Walker filed an individual discrimination complaint against the USPS. He claimed that the USPS had discriminated against him based on his permanent rehabilitation status when his duty hours were restricted to just 14 hours per week. He was also denied the opportunity to work overtime. In 2005, his claim was certified as a class action lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Eligible members of this USPS disability discrimination settlement include permanent rehabilitation employees who had their work hours restricted. Restricted work hours refer to limitations imposed by the USPS on the actual number of hours the employee could work. These restrictions allegedly resulted in the denial of overtime.

Plaintiffs allege that the Postal Service discriminated against employees with disabilities by wrongfully placing them in permanent rehabilitation positions without following the interactive process that is legally required. They also allege that the hour restrictions were arbitrary and not based on the employee’s actual abilities as determined by a physician. In addition, they allege that the USPS did not allow disabled employees to use assistive devices to accommodate their disabilities, even if the assistive devices posed no safety threat or inconvenience to the workplace.

The USPS has denied any wrongdoing, but agreed to settle the class action lawsuit to avoid the expense of ongoing litigation. The settlement has received preliminary approval from an EEOC administrative judge last month. If finalized, Class Members could be eligible to receive up to $300 per employee. However, the actual amount Class Members will receive depends on how many workers file claims.

While the settlement still requires final approval from the EEOC, Class Members are expected to receive formal notification of the settlement agreement next week. More information can be found at www.WalkerClass.com.

This class action lawsuit is not the first to accuse the USPS of discrimination against employees with disabilities. In 2007, the agency agreed to pay $61 million to resolve allegations from USPS workers who claimed they were placed in jobs with little opportunity for advancement due to their disabilities. As part of the settlement agreement, the agency agreed to several policy changes. Some of these changes included rewriting training manuals, setting up a hotline for employment problems, issuing notices related to the rights of workers in rehabilitation positions and providing statistical information about the promotions of employees in these rehabilitation positions. This settlement agreement was one of the biggest of its type.

The USPS Disability Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit case is Edmund Walker, et al. v. Patrick R. Donahoe, Case No. 541-2008-00188X.

Plaintiffs are represented by John Mosby, Marilyn Cain Gordon, Elisa J. Moran and John W. Davis.


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Updated June 29th, 2013

 

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12 thoughts onUSPS Reaches $17.3M Disability Discrimination Settlement

  1. Lisa DA…………… says:

    Hello, I was injured on the job as a city letter carrier, back in 2003, in Pa area. I was harassed, belittled, had 3 of my mail dismantled purposely, an forced to be put on other jail routs that the 2/3 hrs of mail delivery that my dr aloud was impossible for me to do, I was put on permanent medical restrictions because of my on the job injury an could not perform all my duties anymore an only aloud to carry my city foot mail tout no longer than 3 hrs a day because of my injury caused me a permanent disability.
    I was harassed for years, from the time I got injured to the time my doctor threw the towel in in 2010, I got re injured again in 2010 from being forced to do things I could not do since all my mail routs I had bid on had be dismantled purposely there were 3 of them I had. I ended up getting re injured with the same injuries in the same spots because my original injury never healed an also what was healed was improperly healed due to the physical abuse of being forced to do jobs I could not physically preform to lesson my harassment an belittling an my job being threatened every day, I would try my best to what I was told so I would not be refusing a direct order I was giving for the fear of being fired, harassed or belittled even more, after my re injury my doctor said he had enough of the US Postal Service abusing me, he put me on permanent no work orders an wrote several letters to the postal disability retirement office, I was approved for disability retirement, but I elected OWCP pay because I was entitled to it since it was an on the job injury, an by taking that I got more money then my reg retirement pay. I have 23 yrs in the postal service.
    While I was off the first yr of my re injury, my manager at that time, did something that was so evil to me no one would of imagined what she try to do to me so I would possibly loss everything from my job, my life benifits I had work for all my life, an even my freedom, an to top it off she knew I had a special needs daughter who depends on me. My manager wrote a letter to the inspection service as well as to OWCP saying I stool all kinds of time by going into the computer at work an changing codes an times and that I should be fired an prosecuted to the fullest punishment, I only found out what she did when I got letters from OWCP an the inspection service telling me that I was under investigation for stealing time an illegally going into the postal service computers an changing codes an time, an if found guilty I would be prosecuted by federal law. I was so sick to my stomach as well as to falling into a deep depression an full of disbelief on how a another person could be so evil as to make up such a lie like that to destroy someone’s life like that just because I got hurt on the job at no fault of my own, sn have no conscious about doing such an evil thing like that, I knew 100% in my heart, soul an my mind, I NEVER DID OR WOULD DO SUCH A THING LIKE MY MANAGER WAS TRYING TO ACCUSE OF!!!! But I’m was not sure of all what she had did behind my back an who was in co hoots with her with this LIE SHE WAS TELLING ABOUT ME. I just keep praying sn praying an begging the Lord to please please lead everyone that was investigating me see it was nothing but all lies an see that I am a very very honest person an I always took pride in my job, an never took it for granted. I was so sick for about a year from just worrying about what all she had done to me an how far she had gone to get me into such trouble, but I finally got letters in the mail from the investigation an the findings I was so afraid to open them, but I had to see, an they said that I WAS IN NO WAY ABLE TO GET INTO THE COMPUTERS WITHOUT KNOWING CERTAIN CODES THAT ONLY CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS KNEW, THAT I HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING THESE CODES UNLESS MY MANAGER OR OTHER CERTAIN SUPERVISORS GAVE THEM TO ME. AND THAT I WOULD ALDO HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT KINDS OF CODES I WOULD NEED YO PUT INTO THE COMPUTER TO CHANGE TIMES AN DATES UNLESS ALSO TOLD BY MANAGEMENT, THAT I WAS NOT EVEN AT WORK DURING THESE TIME CHANGES THAT WERE PUT INTO THE COMPUTERS, SO YHERE FOR I WAS FOUND NOT GULITY OF ANY OF THE STUFF I WAS BRONG ACCUSED OF, AN THAT THE INVESTIGATION WAS BEING CLOSED, ALL I COULD DO IS CRY AN THANK THE LORD FOR LETTING THEM ALL SEE I DID NOT AN WOULD NEVER DO SUCH THINGS AS I WAS BEING ACCUSED OF.
    I know that my manager never got fired over this, I heard she got moved to another office, an I never found out what happened to the lazy not wanting to carry any mail rout carrier who was nothing but a brown nose ass kisser all he wanted to do was be a lazy acting supervisor, an I KNOW WHO HE WAS!!! He may think I didn’t know who he was an what he did to make sure he didn’t have to walk the city streets an carry mail an do real work to earn a pay check, they were BOTH NOTHING BUT LOW LIFE LIERS!!!! AN SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF WHAT THEY TRIED TO DO TO ME!!!! But the sad story is THEY NEVER WILL BE!!!
    I went thru he’ll at the Postal Service all because I got hurt by accident, I’m still haunted by all the constant harassment, belittling I endured since I got hurt at work till I was forced out!!! ALSO STILL DERPLY HURT FOR THE FALSE THINGS THAT I WAS ACCUSED OF DOING, THAT WILL BE WITH ME THE REST IF MY LIFE!!!
    My on the job injury had just gotten worse over time, had many failed surgeries, an now I’m hardly able to walk much or stand for any long lengths of time more than 15 min at a time, it’s sad an to have to live as I do but I have to I have a special needs daughter who is 23 who needs an depends on me, that’s how I go on, as well as I lean on God every day to thank Him for helping me keep on going each step of the way!!!
    How could these types of thing happen to a person at a place of Federal Government work, or for that matter at anyone’s place of work!!! ITS HEART BREAKING, SICKENING, AN JUST PKAN WRONG!!! This kind of crap has to be stopped an have consequences for the people who do things to people!!!
    Also who would I get in contact to be involved in the Postal Service Class Action law suit about being discriminated against for getting hurt sn being forced out!!! If any on know please post the info or contact me, thank you.

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