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All Rights Reserved, Disclaimer| Site Map| Privacy Policy |Business Development Solutions by FindLaw, part of Thomson Reuters, EEOC Awards $165,000 in Compensatory Damages, Adverse Action Not Permitted for Use of Approved Leave, Adverse Inference for Failure to Produce Documents, Agency Liable for Actions of Subordinate Employee, Agency Rationale Found to Be Pretext for Bias, Arbitral Review of Adverse Actions, Part 1, Attorney Fees Awarded Where Penalty Mitigated, Award Increased in Discrimination Finding, Benefit of Doubt when Representing Oneself, Board Clarifies Jurisdiction for Disabled Veterans, Career Intern Program Violates Veterans Preference, Claim against Agency by IPA Employee Allowed, Claim for Damages and Fees Gets Second Look, Complainants Role in EEO Investigation Part 2, Constructive Notice Bars Summary Judgment, Court Finds No Adverse Employment Action or Reprisal, Court Remands Case for Review of Suggestion Award, Court Rules Against Former Spouse Survivor Annuity, Definition of Disability under the Rehabilitation Act, Disability Discrimination by State Department, Disability Retirement and Discrimination Claims, Discrimination Due to Age, Union Activities, EEO Representative Has Viable Claim of Retaliation, EEOC Awards Substantial Compensatory Damages, EEOC Denies Agencys Request for Reconsideration, EEOC Sustains Discrimination Claim of FAA Employee, Employee Not Entitled to Accommodation for Spouse, Employee Wins at EEOC after Decade-Long Fight, Equal Pay Act Plaintiffs Must Prove Sex Discrimination, Failure to Comply with Law Judges Orders, Failure to Reassign Violates Rehabilitation Act, FEGLI Beneficiary Designation Trumps State Law, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination, Part 1, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination, Part 2, Going Straight to Court with EEO Complaint, Harassment Based on Perceived Sexual Orientation, Hearing Ordered in Involuntary Resignation Case, Hostile Work Environment and Compensation Claims, Hostile Work Environment Harassment Based on Gender, Importance of Impartial Investigations Stressed, Jurisdiction Argument after Delay in Appeal, Lateral Transfer Can be Adverse Job Action, Mixed Motives in Age Discrimination Cases, Modification of Work Schedule as Reasonable Accommodation, MSPB Applies Ruling Limiting Appeal Rights, MSPB Jurisdiction Over Newer FAA Employees, MSPB May Review OPM Suitability Determinations, MSPB Mitigates Penalty for Hatch Act Violation, MSPB Upholds Former Park Police Chiefs Removal, MSPB Upholds Removal for False Medal Claim, New Decision on Management-Directed Reassignment, NSPS Cant Impose New Probationary Period, Performance Improvement Plan Not an Adverse Action, Physician Protected Under Whistleblower Law, Pre-Enactment USERRA Jurisdiction Affirmed By Federal Circuit, Protections for Legislative Branch Employees, Reassignment of Harassment Victim Reversed, Recommended Changes to EEOC Regulations and Procedures, Resignation Reversed Due to Misinformation, Retaliation Not Covered in Age Discrimination Case, Revocation of Accommodation may be Discriminatory, Sleep Impairment a Disability Under Rehabilitation Act, Suit against Manager in Personal Capacity, Supervisors Comments Could Have Chilling Effect, Supporting a Hostile Work Environment Claim, Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Cats Paw Theory, Supreme Court Simplifies Mixed Case Appeals, Survivor Lacks Standing to Bring EEO Claim, Telecommuting as Reasonable Accommodation, Temporary Demotion States Cause of Action, Threat of Discipline Found to be Reprisal, Tolling of Deadlines for Filing Veterans Preference Complaints, TSA Not Immune To Rehabilitation Act Claims, TSA Screener Applicants Exempt from Rehabilitation Act, U.S. District Court Denies Summary Judgment, Unionists Access to Agency System Upheld, Untimely Disability Retirement Application, Whistleblower Compensation Provision Not Retroactive, Whistleblower Legislation Advances in Congress, Whistleblower Reprisal Found, Relief Ordered. American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO Agency denied Complainant a reasonable accommodation for his hearing disability when it did not provide a sign language interpreter during training and safety meetings; where the physical safety of employees in the workplace is the subject of discussion, it is uniquely pressing for Complainant to have access to the information being conveyed. information only on official, secure websites. January 17, 2020 - Status Update - Pittman Settlement Letters. Irvin M. v. Dep't of Homeland Security, EEOC Appeal No. Brendon L. v. Dep't of Veterans Affairs, EEOC Appeal No. 0720160021 (July 25, 2018), https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/migrated_files/decisions/0720160021.txt. When determining an award of non-pecuniary compensatory damages, the Commission may consider the present-day value of comparable awards. EEOC regulations specify the procedures to follow if either party comes to believe the settlement agreement has been breached. 2019005682 (Apr. According to the Agency Financial Report for FY 2020, the EEOC successfully resolved 6,272 of the 9,036 mediations conducted. Terisa B. v. Dep't of Defense, EEOC Appeal Nos. In December 2011 the USPS announced that it planned to close more than half252 out of a total of 461of its mail processing centers, eliminating 28,000 positions and reducing the delivery of overnight first-class mail. . 0120170064 (Feb. 8, 2019), https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/migrated_files/decisions/0120170064.pdf. Administrative Judge should not have sanctioned Agency for holding a fact-finding conference where legal counsel for Agency and Complainant were allowed to ask follow-up questions after EEO Investigator questioned witnesses; EEO MD-110 language permitting an EEO Investigator to be a "presiding official at a fact-finding conference" anticipates that parties may ask questions, and the fact-finding conference transcript showed that Agency counsel did not direct, control, interfere with, or overrule the investigator. Ashlee P. v. Social Security Administration, EEOC Appeal No. Agency violated the Rehabilitation Act when it placed Complainant's private medical documents in his Employee Work Folder, a non-medical work file. 0120162132 (June 22, 2018), https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/migrated_files/decisions/0120162132.txt. 2020001922 (May 24, 2021), https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/decisions/2021_08_31/2020001922.pdf. Due to the increasing use of email and the internet for correspondence and document delivery, the volume of first-class mail processed by the USPS declined by 43 percent in 2017 from its peak in 2001. Agency's final decisions on disputed claims for individual relief were premature because an Administrative Judge retains jurisdiction and is responsible for resolving disputed claims for individual relief. The Administrative Judge erred when, in the absence of an order, he sanctioned the Agency for its failure to complete the EEO investigation in a timely manner by issuing a default judgment in favor of Complainant. 5, 2020), https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/decisions/2020_08_10/0120180519.pdf. EEOC Awards $165,000 in Compensatory Damages The EEOC recently awarded $165,000 in non-pecuniary damages for pain and suffering to an employee of the U.S. We keep track of our clients contact information, and we can provide that to USPS or the EEOC Administrative Judge when they need it. Record was insufficient to determine whether Agency jointly employed Complainant where record did not contain the contract between the Agency and staffing firm, Complainant's position description, or any evidence regarding the day-to-day actions, duties, and responsibilities of Complainant's job. Sherrie M. v. U.S. For our 2021 report, we analyzed USPS data from fiscal years 2016 through 2020 to determine turnover and injury rates. Postal Service (USPS) has agreed to pay nearly $17.3 million to settle allegations that the agency discriminated against employees with disabilities. Padilla v. USPS, EEOC Appeal No. info@eeoc.gov Agency engaged in per se reprisal when, at the direction of the attorney representing the Agency in Complainants prior EEO complaint, it sent him correspondence requesting the name of his treating physician, asked him to sign a medical release, and proposed conducting a fitness-for-duty examination; the attorney instigated the actions based on statements that Complainant made in the prior EEO proceeding. The program sought to significantly cut labor costs for USPS, which faced increasing operating costs from fuel price increases, decreasing revenue from reductions in the use of priority services like first-class mail, as well as increasing competition for the delivery of packages and urgent mail from giant logistics corporations like UPS and FedEx. March 1, 2023 12:32 pm. Thersa E. v. U.S. Neither did the unions make any effort to unite USPS workers with their class brothers and sisters across the border during the 2018 strike of 50,000 Canadian postal workers, who were also fighting against a brutal profit-driven work regimen where real wages had fallen and understaffing led to speedup and heavy workloads that caused an accident rate among postal workers to be five times that of the average rate for federally regulated industries. Agency, which provided no explanation for the more-than-one-year delay in its issuance of the final decision, was ordered to post a notice at its Complaint Adjudication Office regarding its failure to comply with the Commission's regulatory timeframes and orders and to provide training to its EEO personnel. USPS has taken steps, and described . 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 U.S. Postal Service who have been subjected to the National Reassessment Process (NRP) from May 5, 2006 to present, allegedly in violation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The AJ took account of several factors that limited Complainants non-pecuniary damages award, found that the Agency was not the sole cause of Complainants emotional and psychological harm, and limited the award of pecuniary damages to the amounts contained in "legitimate receipts.". 0120150846 (Nov. 10, 2016), https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/migrated_files/decisions/0120150846.txt. Official websites use .gov 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. That class action complaint, covering all injured-on-duty employees who were reassessed under the NRP during the period 5/5/06 through 7/1/11, was decided by the EEOC in September 2017 and finalized in a March 9, 2018 decision. 0120180917 (Oct. 17, 2018), https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/migrated_files/decisions/0120180917.pdf. 2019004084 (Sept. 15, 2020), https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/decisions/2020_12_07/2019004084.pdf. All rights reserved. 2019005957 (Apr. Official websites use .gov The Post Office is unbelievable in their ability to mistreat their workers. Arbitration Awards & Settlements Arbitration Clerk Jobs Bargaining Unit Work Moreover, some EEO complaints dated back as far as 2001. 2021001898 (Apr. Please know that we are fighting for you, just as we have done for over 10 years. Complainant awarded $75,000 in non-pecuniary compensatory damages where nearly two years of sexual harassment caused embarrassment and humiliation, triggered daily headaches and weekly migraines, and resulted in a diagnosis of anxiety. Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. On September 1, 2022 Arbitrator Joseph M. Sharnoff issued his latest national-level RI-399 award, this one concerning the Automated Delivery Unit Sorter (ADUS). 2020), https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/decisions/2021_04_05/2019005824%20DEC.pdf. If you have questions contact the EEOC at: 131 M Street, NE Margaret M. v. Dep't of Veterans Affairs, EEOC Appeal No. Published: July 20, 2016. If such draconian moves ever go forward, it will only be thanks to the previous Democratic and Republican administrations which sanctioned cuts to the USPS and to the postal workers unions which have been complicit in these attacks. 2020002082 (Sept. 15, 2020), https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/decisions/2021_01_19/2020002082.pdf. 0120172637 (Mar. 0720150002 (Sept. 25, 2017), https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/migrated_files/decisions/0720150002.txt. When the Merit Systems Protection Board dismisses a case for lack of jurisdiction, the matter is no longer a mixed case and should be remanded to the agency for further processing as a non-mixed complaint. Former USPS workers in the NRP class action suit allege that they were discriminated against after showing proof that they had been injured at work. The class action suit is currently open and continues to process claims from approximately 28,000 victimized postal workers. Substantial evidence supported Administrative Judge's determination that Complainant, who held a GS-14 position, did not establish that her work was substantially equal to that of GS-15 male employees; Complainant did not have the same responsibilities as her comparators because she was not a supervisor, did not have budget authority, did not speak for the Agency the way higher-level employees did, and did not have the technical expertise of higher-level employees. The Commission lacks jurisdiction to consider appeals from Peace Corps volunteers and applicants, who have a separate EEO complaint process outside Commission jurisdiction; although Complainant filed her complaint against the State Department, it concerned a Peace Corps volunteer position over which the Commission did not have jurisdiction. 19, 2021), https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/decisions/2021_04_30/2021001898.pdf. Substantial evidence supported the Administrative Judge's finding that the Agency subjected Complainant to a hostile work environment based on age and in reprisal for protected EEO activity when she was issued a lowered performance evaluation, subjected to false allegations, and subjected to unfair terms and conditions of employment. 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. workers that this case involved. 48-1 40-0062-06, the final agency decision (FAD) issued in connection Complainant, the only African-American plumber at the facility where he worked, was subjected to a hostile work environment based on race when coworkers tampered with his toolbox and left notes in it saying that African Americans did not have the skill sets to be plumbers, attempted to restrain him to a chair with a metal clamp, referred to him as a goat, and duct-taped him to a chair; the Agency was liable for the racial harassment because it did not take immediate and appropriate corrective action after Complainant reported the first, toolbox incident. Requiring Complainant to seek assistance in opening doors from security guards and coworkers did not provide her with an effective accommodation; Agency's eventual installation of automatic doors demonstrated that this accommodation was not an undue hardship.

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