Initial Decision Finds NRP Discriminated Against Class

The Administrative Judge recently issued a favorable decision in favor of the class on most of the claims in the case. This means that the Administrative Judge ruled in favor of the class and against the USPS. Specifically, the Administrative Judge decided that the NRP violated the Rehabilitation Act on four claims: (1) Wrongful Disclosure of Medical Information—USPS failed to require redaction of an employee’s medical information as part of the NRP; (2) Failure to Provide a Reasonable Accommodation—USPS sent employees home with no-work available or partial no-work available determinations, or sent employees to new assignments as part of the NRP; (3) Disparate Treatment of Injured on Duty Employees—USPS targeted employees and sought to compel retirements under the NRP; (4) Harassment—USPS created a hostile work environment under the NRP.

USPS has indicated that it will appeal the Administrative Judge’s decision. We do not know how long it will take for the appeal to be decided. The claim process for individual class members will not begin until after the appeal process is completed. It is anticipated that the appeal process may take at least one year.

It is very important to emphasize that the Judge’s decision does not provide any guarantee that any particular class member will obtain personal relief. Instead, the order finds in favor of several class-wide claims, and individual class members will be able to file personal claims in the future (if the Judge’s decision is upheld on appeal). Also, even if the Judge’s decision is upheld on appeal, the Agency may still attempt to prove that individual class members were not personally treated improperly or personally harmed under the NRP.

We will continue to update this website with information on the status of the case, and as always, we appreciate your patience with this legal process.