An Adverse Ruling In EEOC Class Action NRP Case Could Have A ‘Material Impact’ On USPS

As PostalReporter.com noted earlier, USPS ended its National Reassessment Process (NRP) January 31, 2011. The statement by USPS below may be the reason it has quietly abandoned the program.

On January 14, 2010, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Office of Federal Operations certified a class action case against the Postal Service in a matter captioned McConnell v. Potter (first instituted in 2006), with the class consisting of all permanent rehabilitation employees and limited duty employees who have been subjected to the National Reassessment Process (NRP) from May 5, 2006 to the present. The Postal Service used the NRP to ensure that its records were correct and that employees receiving workers’ compensation benefits were placed in jobs consistent with their abilities. The case alleges violations of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 resulting from the NRP’s failure to provide a reasonable accommodation, the NRP’s wrongful disclosure of medical information, the creation by the NRP of a hostile work environment, and the NRP’s adverse impact on disabled employees. The class is seeking injunctive relief and damages of an uncertain amount on behalf of a yet undetermined, but very large number of employees. If the plaintiffs were able to prove their allegations in this matter and to establish the damages they assert, then an adverse ruling could have a material impact on the Postal Service. However, the Postal Service disputes the claims and intends to vigorously contest the matter.

The lawsuit was cited in the Postal Service’s most recent Quarterly Financial Report. Also MSPB recently invited interested parties to submit briefs for cases involving NRP

Here is the summary of allegations filed in the EEOC class action:

In the case of Sandra McConnell, et al. v. United States Postal Service an AJ decision certified the following class:

All permanent rehabilitation employees and limited duty employees at 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 certification decision recited evidence that the goal of NRP was to assign work to employees who had an approved compensable injury as determined by the Department of Labor.

Class members argued one or more of the following complaints:

1. NRP is a systemic attempt to abolish reasonable accommodations agency wide.

2. The agency’s alleged facially non-discriminatory policy is being applied in a discriminatory manner.

3. The process constitutes denial(s) of reasonable accommodation.

4. The process constitutes discrimination based on disability (physical/mental).

5. The process constitutes unlawful harassment and hostile work environment based on disability (physical/mental).

6. The agency unlawfully modified or terminated each person’s approved disability accommodations without cause.

7. The agency made its reassignment decisions improperly by, inter alia, failing to engage in the interactive process.

8. The agency applied the program discriminatorily both with regard to each individual and how the process was applied.

9. The agency’s actions are retaliatory for the individual’s protected conduct, in reporting injuries, filing worker’s compensation, and/or prior EEO activity.

10. The agency’s conduct violated its procedures and OWCP’s regulations and blatant failure to follow the agency’s own regulations is presumed to be motivated by retaliation and/or discrimination. This case is still pending

17 thoughts on “An Adverse Ruling In EEOC Class Action NRP Case Could Have A ‘Material Impact’ On USPS

  1. I was hurt on the job and was out for almost 10 years on compensation.I was asked to come back to work by the Dept.of Labor with my disability limitations.The U.S.POSTAL SERVICE told me that they did not want me if i am disabled.They said that they were ordered by the D.O.L. to take me back.They told me that they would do everything in their power to get rid of me.I was just terminated from my job of over 26 years because of my disability.

  2. those who have been injured on the job, who are now on disability, are they part of this class action against the USPS ?

  3. I was retired at 37 due to an work injury, the postal office told me that they had nowork for me after lying to owcp to get me back on the work floor with a job that they made up….after being on worker comp for 4 years. I was told that I no longer had an injury,( at least not a job injury) and i better return or lose my job after I was sent to one of the owcp doctors. their doctor said that the pain was made up in my mind and there was nothing wrong with me. four month later I went to my doctor and he let me know that I had another disk in my neck need to be fix, I believe that I re-injury Imyself when I was force to work at “job” that the postal service said in my restriction. I want to work and if the postal service could find me something that wouldn’t cause me pain I’ll be happy to go back.

  4. Buzz…We were forced to do 1 of 3 things File owcp, disibility, or lwop. Which voluntary group do you suggest?
    I wasn’t ready to retire, but my hand was forced to volunteer..Get it!

  5. The ones on NRP – They ‘chose’ to take diability retirement, they were not forced to!!!! Lucky them, they got retired. Probably a good thing to get out of the ghetto house. No more affirmative action – even illegals can get ahead, and they don’t speak English like you people born here. Get rid of affirmative action president in d.c., he is incompetent, like postal management, run it to the ground!!! The affirmative action president will make you poor like ghetto.

  6. I was a letter carrier in florida with 24 1/2 years of service. I am obviously part of the class action.
    I’m wondering if the po will have to contact me and others and give us some sort of work with back pay. I’ve been out since May 2010. I ended up retiring with disibility because I didn’t want owcp harassing me.

  7. The postal service is run like a ghetto by incompetent managers – made it into a ghetto employer, promoting ghetto managers.
    Run everything into the ground to become a ghetto palace, just like the current incompetent guy is doing for this country at the white house in d.c.
    Cry babies for affirmative action – gave you all snake neck complainers the top job by “one of your own”, but proven lack of intelligence by that ‘kind’, everything is run into the poor house, the U.S. is made into a ghetto.
    USPS and president is “hopeless” and changed for the worse.
    Stop crying for affirmative action rights, you don’t qualify on your own due to your lack of intelligence, that’s why you need that affirmative action to get you that promotion!!!!! The you still can’t handle it, but turn it all into ghetto!!!

  8. It depends on the situation and where you worked. The EEOC and MSPB Decisions are not going to cover all situations. If you were tricked into retiring and you were still able to work then you can bring a Fraud Tort against the USPS. The bottom line is that the USPS is going to have to reimburse the State Unemployment Office and the DoL’s Office of Workers’ Comp. After that the 120,000 limited duty people will split the remaining amount less the Atty’s Fee’s. The Complainant’s Atty’s (2 of them) in the Glover/Albrecht Case Class Action was awarded $1 million per year for the 15 years it took to settle. The USPS is wasting more of it’s time and resources fighting a losing cause. They violated a number of employee’s rights and their actions were malicious. They should fire the managers and supervisors behind their aggrievous acts. Congress should also take the Postal Service back so they can create jobs and dispose of the ghetto mentality that has plagued the Postal Service like cancer. The Postal Reorganization Act failed. It’s time to move this country forward not backwards.

  9. What effect will this have on the employee that was walked out the door “No work available” and chose to take disibility retirement?

  10. Wendall, I will check into the ELM. The ELM must have been revised since my ELM (1989 Edition) does not show any 806 Sect. 152.3. My rule is if it’s not written, it can not be enforced. Secret or not. The USPS was manipulating ELM 540 and the Privacy Act. |They created a “matching program” outside the Fedreal Gov’t in violation of FECA and Title V. They arbitrarily picked and choosed who got special treatment and who was locked out. The USPS went further to give your records to a Third Party Doctor that had no cedentials to make determinations on your condition(s) without your knowledge or approval. You were part of an illegal program that was not regulated or approved by the Federal Gov’t. Whether it’s a secret ELM or not, the USPS does not have that right or jurisdiction to make such a program. That is what the MSPB and EEOC are challenging. Thanks for the secret ELM.

  11. Timmy “T” Eagle

    Please check yourself. I am addressing such from experiences.

    The U.S. Postal Service has a secret Management and Medical Regulation ELM-806 Section 152.3.

    The U.S. EEOC, The U.S. MSPB, and The U.S. Courts will not address The Postal Medical Regulation (ELM-806 Section 152.3) as too whether its illegal or not when such is the main cause of action or the complaint. Thus, such is
    “legal” too discriminate!

    Moreover, neither the U.S. Department of Labor, OWCP would address U.S. Postal Service Management and Medical Regulation ELM-806 Section 152.3.

  12. The NRP was created by dysfunctional Managers in an attempt to retaliate against the limited duty employee’s that were part of the Glover/Albrecht Class Action. The USPS failed to learn it’s lesson about retaliating against employee’s. Craft employee’s were locked out while Supervisors/Managers making $72,000 – $80,000 a year while sitting in offices getting fat. The MSPB is the only outside Agency that honestly protects employee rights. If the EEOC had the backbone of the MSPB then the EEOC would through the book at the USPS to the tune of $1 billion in damages. This would send the ghetto Managers packing since they would no longer fleece the Postal Service for their high unearned salaries. Both the MSPB and the EEOC would put the “Service” back into the Postal Service. Our so-called profits are paying (subsidizing) mis-management. It’s time someone steps up to the plate to do the right thing! If you want to see records that will make your head spin, e-me. We are all bonded by the Codes of Ethical Conduct and the Executive Order 12731. It’s time someone does their job (DoJ)!

  13. Hey management, show THAT to your children; explain how you harass, bully and discriminate against people injured (in many cases, because YOU forced years of overtime on people that wanted 40 hours of work/ the rest of the week with family).
    Fucking scumbags,

  14. They had people sitting in a room doing nothing so then they decided to send people home to do nothing. What’s next?????????

  15. Don’t worry. As president, I will eliminate the USPS and all other evil government. Only my job will remain.

  16. I work in San Francisco, Ca. The NRP is/was a sham. I filede the first EEO and Union Grievance against the USPS years prior the Sandra McConnell Class Action. All the above citations are true. The USPS concocted the NRP to evade one’s privacy and to harass employee’s. It is/was a sham program to give a bunch of worthless managers a job upstairs. The EEOC should throw the book at the USPS.

Comments are closed.