On February 27, 2019, the EEOC Administrative Judge issued a Case Management Order. The Order states that the process to be used is that the Postal Service is to submit their legal brief and evidence by March 19, 2019, and then Claimants have 20 days to submit their legal brief and evidence. We are asking that everyone return the paperwork that we have mailed to you so that it arrives in our office by no later than March 25, 2019.
There is still time to retain us. We can send you out a retainer letter that must be signed and returned to our office. 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. You will also need to fill out the Declaration. You can email the documents to [email protected], fax them to 585-272-0574, or mail them to 693 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607.
The deadline has already passed to submit supporting documentation. However, if you believe you still have documentation to support your claim that you have not yet provided to our offices, please immediately send it in and we will do our best to include it in the process, if we are given the opportunity to do so. You may send it in the mail to: Thomas & Solomon PLLC, 693 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607 or via email at nrpclassaction@
Whether you get any money and how much is determined by the EEOC’s decision on your claim. 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. You may also be able to obtain relief for harm from harassment you experienced as a consequence of the NRP. 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. The EEOC will review your submission and determine what categories of relief you are eligible for, and will also decide the dollar amount for your damages award (if any). Our goal is to help you submit appropriate information in order to obtain all relief that is possible for your situation.
Yes. Our email address is [email protected] and our fax is 585-272-0574.
Those reviewed under the NRP were USPS employees who had OWCP (or workers compensation, or injury compensation) claims. 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.
Yes, the Postal Service should have provided us the NRP file for each person. We will include appropriate documents from your NRP file when we submit your Declaration and our legal argument to the EEOC Judge.
We cannot predict how long this process will take. We will post status updates on the claims process on this website. 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. Our goal is to move the claims forward as fast as possible with a fair and efficient process for all claimants.
For most people, the answer is “no.” Most people previously filled out a claim for individual relief form that included a written designation of our law firms to represent them. Other people used a different claim form, then filled out a written retainer agreement with our office. If you did either of those two things, then there is no need to fill out another retainer agreement. If you would like to retain our firms at this time to represent you in your individual claim, please let us know immediately, and we will send you a retainer letter that must be signed by you and returned to our office.
Yes. The EEOC has conclusively determined in a Final Decision that the Postal Service discriminated against the class as a whole. Now the EEOC Judge must evaluate the individual claims to determine what relief is appropriate for each claimant. This has been a long and hard-fought battle against the Postal Service, but the end is in sight.
A contingency fee is only paid if we obtain a recovery for you. If you receive nothing as a result of your claim, you would owe us nothing. If we do get a recovery for you, from the final award that you receive in this case, we would be entitled to 30% of the gross, pre-tax total. You could authorize the Postal Service to pay the 30% contingency fee directly to us, and that way it would be clear for tax purposes that you did not receive that additional amount as part of your final money award. 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. However, in the event the case settles at some point in the future, we would seek to have the Postal Service pay all of the fees in this case so that the class members do not have to pay those fees from their individual recoveries. 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.