Status Update – Class proposes “case management order” that would establish a comprehensive claims determination process

Now that the Postal Service has disputed every individual claim for relief (over 28,000), the EEOC must establish a fair and efficient claims determination process in accordance with EEOC rules. The EEOC has never been faced with a claimant class this large.

On February 11, 2019, Class Counsel filed a proposed “Case Management Order” to establish a comprehensive claims determination process. Our submission may be viewed here.

As you will see, our proposal addresses both fairness and efficiency. Our proposed “Case Management Order” calls for immediate processing of 50 initial claims, including opportunities for limited discovery. This proposal is consistent with many other successful class actions. Experience shows that the claims determination process speeds up tremendously after the initial batch of claims is addressed. In other words, a process starting with 50 claims can ramp up to 500 claims, and so on. Our approach would lead to the fastest means of considering all Class Member claims in a fair manner.

Our proposed “Case Management Order” is carefully tailored to this unprecedented case. Our proposal recognizes the limits on the EEOC’s case-processing capacity, as well as the Postal Service’s unyielding opposition to fair resolution of your claims. As always, we pledge to continue our hard fight for forward progress, advancing as far as possible, as fast as possible.

The Postal Service will submit its response to our proposed “Case Management Order” in approximately 15 days. After that, the EEOC Administrative Judge assigned to this case will issue an order regarding the claims determination process. We will promptly provide an update on this website as soon as that information is available.

We deeply appreciate your extraordinary patience as this lengthy process moves forward. Without your patience and persistence, the Postal Service would have won without a fight. We will do everything in our power to reward your patience by fighting for a fair and reasonable determination of your individual claims for relief.