thomas and solomon nrp class action

A copy of Class Counsel's motion is available by clicking here. On February 27, 2019, the EEOC Administrative Judge issued a Case Management Order. The purpose of this class action is to remedy a harm that has adversely affected over 28,000 individuals nationwide in the Postal Service. If claimants appeal is heard by OFO, the Agencys decision can be upheld or the case can be remanded to an AJ in that claimants geographical area to determine damages. Updates - NRP Class Action Lawsuit * This has been a long and hard-fought battle against the Postal Service, but the end is in sight. The Administrative Judge has not yet announced the process or timeline for reviewing claims. You can email the documents to NRPclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com, fax them to 585-272-0574, or mail them to 693 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607. That work includes representing you in your individual claim through the entire EEOC claims process. For our clients, we are planning to have a recorded call or video later in the next month where we can answer questions and discuss the next steps in the process. Thank you for your support, assistance, and patience throughout this claims process. If you are providing information on a Continuation sheet, it is a good idea to include names and approximate dates (if you are able to). If you did not receive an automated call from us with the special number for you to call to hear the recording, please reach out via email at nrpclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com or by telephone at 585-272-0540. In other words, a process starting with 50 claims can ramp up to 500 claims, and so on. You may want to consider friends and family members who observed a change in your personality or emotional state after the NRP. Recently many claimants have been asking about the timeline as to when claims will be evaluated. Unfortunately, some of our clients in this case have passed away. As of July 15, 2019, we have filed a legal brief (Statement) and evidence on behalf of all Claimants who are represented by our law firms. The most important thing right now is for you to complete the Declaration to the best of your ability, as accurately as possible. The Administrative Judge has asked our offices to provide any evidence that claims were timely. The Judge has indicated generally that a reasonable extension of time will be allowed, but the Judge has not yet issued a written order. I learned that my limited duty job was going to be taken away from me, and that there would be nothing left for me. Thus, as of this time, nothing has changed in terms of possible settlement, and there is no need for you to take any action at this time regarding the possibility of settlement. Note: The complete text of Solomon Northup's Twelve Years a Slave can be found at the EDSITEment-reviewed digital archive of Documenting the American South.For further historical context, read the "Introduction to the North American Slave Narrative" from the same archive. The Postal Service attacks Class Counsel's role in the process, renaming them as "Phase I Class Counsel," and referring to Ms. McConnell as "Phase I Class Agent.". The final appeal decision in the case was issued on March 9, 2018, and is available at NRPclassaction.com. We continue to fight for justice for all of the claimants in this case. To learn more about the case, please visit NRPclassaction.com. USPS has submitted disputes to the EEOC for over 28,000 claims; to the best of our knowledge USPS has provisionally and/or partially accepted less than one percent of claims, and has made zero payments to any claimants. Many class members who submitted claims for individual relief have received response letters from the Postal Service. Various parties, including USPS, objected to terms of the judge's order, and it is our understanding that the judge is still considering those objections and possible changes to her plan to proceed. You should mark the boxes for every statement that applies to your situation. The claims, evidence, and legal briefs for all of our clients' relief claims have been submitted to the EEOC Administrative Judge. Like the other recent conferences, this one focused on the spreadsheet that the parties have been compiling for the last several months, at the direction of the Administrative Judge. In that case a final decision has been rendered in favor of the injured workers. It is likely that the Postal Service will take into account your OWCP payments when calculating any backpay that is owed to you. Please continue to check the website for updates. The Declaration packet we mailed to you includes a sample Witness Statement form that can be used for this purpose. If you have any updated contact information and have not yet provided it to our office, please call us at 585-272-0540 or email us at NRPClassAction@theemploymentattorneys.com. The law firm Thomas & Solomon, which fought the case in front of EEOC, has launched a website (link) to help impacted employees file claims, predicting USPS will fight back against every single individual. See below for more information. We will provide an update after the status conference. Without your patience and persistence, the Postal Service would have won without a fight. Contact Employment Law Firms In Rochester NY | Contact Thomas & Solomon LLP We organized and submitted all available documentation in accordance with the Case Management Order. The call was fairly brief. Yes, but before you call us please review the cover letter and all instructions in the mailing and on this website. In any event, please rest assured that we will return all messages. The conference lasted a little over two hours. We can send you out a retainer letter that must be signed and returned to our office. NRP Class Action is being handled by Thomas & Solomon LLP. If you have not previously retained our firms to represent you with your individual claim for relief, we are not now in a position to take on your case. The two law firms that serve as Class Counsel will work together to represent you, and your 30% contingency fee will cover all contingency fee payments to the law firms. Thanks to all who have returned Declarations to us. You can see the order by clicking here. If you did either of those two things, then there is no need to fill out another retainer agreement. Posted in Federal Worker Compensation, General, Postal Workers. So I understood that I had no option but to retire; or, I was told that I would be sent to work for Walmart; or, They indicated that I would lose my job and my retirement benefits, so I felt I had no option except to retire; or, They would not give me an assignment that fit with my medical restrictions, so I had no option but to retire; or. A class action complaint for injured on duty postal employees was certified by an EEOC Administrative Judge (AJ) on May 30,2008. If you have questions about the NRP class action claims process, please review this FAQ section. 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. The Judge emphasized the very large volume of documentation submitted to her, and also indicated that limited time and assistance was available to her. Additional Continuation Sheets and Witness Statement forms are available by clicking here. Please continue to monitor this website for updates. As a result of the Judges order, we soon should have all NRP Activity Files in connection with our firms clients. Nevertheless, todays Order reflects the Judges strong desire to move the process forward decisively. If you wish, you can specifically request that USPS take into account your payments from OWCP when calculating any backpay that is owed to you. If you believe that you fall in these categories, you should return a completed, signed Declaration form to us no later than March 25, 2019. As we learn more about the Administrative Judges plans ahead, we will provide updates on this website. We understand that there is some confusion as to the date when the spreadsheet submissions are due. We expect that the Administrative Judge will issue an order regarding these issues some time after the March 20, 2019 status conference. The comprehensive spreadsheet must be filed by July 18, 2022. Establishing the foundation of how a company exists and functions, it is perceived as, perhaps, the most profound and steady rule of corporate jurisprudence. Current status of the NRP class action case - Postal Times For our clients, please provide your updated contact information to us. We have received many inquiries as to whether the EEOC Administrative Judge intends to utilize the assistance of special masters.During the March 4, 2022 conference with the EEOC Administrative Judge, she indicated that the special master issue is still under advisement. We understand this to mean that her in-depth questioning regarding the Postal Services access to certain information will assist her in determining the best and most efficient path forward, including as to whether special masters should be utilized. A copy of the Declaration form is being sent by e-mail to those Class Members who have sent us an e-mail address, and a copy of the Declaration form is also available by clicking here. The Judge set up a course of review that would have had outside masters review a number of claims, but that approach seems to have been stalled out due to USPS objections. We will represent you before an EEOC administrative judge. The more detail you can provide regarding your forced decision to leave your job, the more information the EEOC Judge will have in order to decide your claim for constructive discharge.Third, it is a good idea to include a Witness statement to help confirm why you concluded that you had no option other than separation, resignation or retirement. There is not a magic number for how much information should be submitted. We were not involved in the process of USPS accessing Pittman settlement documents, and those documents do not directly relate to the NRP Class Action. When the EEOC notice is issued, we will post a copy of it on this website. Thank you for your continued patience through this process, and for your strong perseverance in the face of the Postal Services stalling tactics. As you know, the EEOC has already entered a strong finding of discrimination against the Class as a whole, and we want to ensure that the claims process provides every Class Member a fair and reasonable opportunity to obtain all relief to which they are entitled under law, as efficiently as possible. We do not yet know what will be on the EEOC website, or when this will all happen. There is no action needed at this time on your individual claim. Today we heard from EEOC Administrative Judge regarding the ongoing effort to compile claims information in an excel format. Thomas & Solomon LLP 9. Please dont be discouraged: we are closer than ever to obtaining the relief you deserve from the Postal Service! There may be better options that would work in your benefit. Although the Covid-19 situation has caused the EEOC New York office to close, the Judge has assured us that her work on the case continues. The next status conference is November 28, 2022. If you have already done so, thank you! However, the Judge emphasized the perils of seeking a FAD: If a claimant seeks a FAD and gets nothing, the process of appeal and hearings and evidence starts all over again for that individual complaint and if there has been a settlement in the McConnell Class Action, said Complaint runs the risk of being foreclosed for any review of their claims or compensation from any prospective settlement.. Yesterday afternoon, the parties participated in a status conference with EEOC Judge Roberts-Draper. 6. EEOC guidance sets forth an orderly process for the Administrative Judge to review and adjudicate disputed individual claims after class-wide discrimination has been found. The Agency has necessitated the referral to Special Masters because it has disputed every single claim for damages and argues that the Commission has to hear and decide all 29,000 disputed claims, knowing that the Commission has limited resources to do so and such a task would be near impossible to complete, effectively creating an insurmountable impasse.. There is no need at this time to send a copy of the Pittman claim form to our offices. We conducted extensive research, and came up with a list of five Special Masters who have great experience at reviewing large numbers of claims similar to the claims in this case. Accordingly, you need to provide us with this information NOW in order to maintain your claims for relief from the Postal Service. As previously reported, we have filed an extension request with the Judge. The Agency must complete their portion by June 15, 2022 and Phase 1 Class Counsel shall complete their portion by July 15, 2022. Second, the Administrative Judge also discussed the group of individuals that the Agency has now identified as untimely. If you have not previously retained our firms but you wish to do so at this time, please call 585-272-0540 in order to request a retainer agreement for you to sign. We have notched many milestone successes in this case since 2006. U. S. Postal Service National Reassessment Process ("NRP") is found to Under our proposal, the claimants who have already obtained partial concessions from USPS will receive the benefit of that relief now, while continuing to seek full recovery through the normal EEOC claim-adjudication process set forth in the Case Management Order. (585) 272-0574 (fax), My Manager told me that I had no other option but to retire; or, I learned that my limited duty job was going to be taken away from me, and that there would be nothing left for me. There is still time to retain us. In addition to issuing this order regarding NRP Activity Files, the EEOC Judge also explained that she is in the process of organizing all of the documents and information submitted by all claimants in this case. U.S. Postal Service NRP Class Action - Kator, Parks, Weiser & Wright, PLLC Please check this website for an update after the Status Conference on March 4, 2022. The best way to get guidance on your specific legal issue is to contact a lawyer. The bottom-line is this: we will take all steps necessary to provide the Judge with timely submissions for all our clients. In particular, the Postal Service wanted to encourage claimants to request Final Agency Decisions (or FAD) in order to drop out of this case and start over. In addition, you can use the continuation sheet of the Declaration to add information regarding any medical diagnosis you may have received as a result of the NRP (such as depression or anxiety), and medication prescribed as a result of the NRP. Merely submitting the claim form does not endanger your disability or social security claims. If you have not yet completed and returned the Declaration form to us, please do so as soon as possible. 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. Otherwise, the Postal Service and other employers will continue to discriminate against workers with disabilities. What you need to do: The Postal Service HAS NOT sent copies of the FADs to us. And as always, please continue to monitor this website for any important updates. We have asked the EEOC Judge to force the Postal Service to provide the NRP Files created by USPS management directly to the EEOC Judge and to each claimant, so that the EEOC Judge will have this highly-relevant information while assessing individual claims for relief. NRP Class Action Lawsuit Update - December, 2020 Our goal is to move the claims forward as fast as possible with a fair and efficient process for all claimants. If we receive your completed Declaration form by April 1, 2019, we will be able to satisfy the deadlines in this case. 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. The EEOC Judge now has submissions from both sides regarding relief for all Claimants. According to the notice from the EEOC, each claimant has been provided a unique log-in identifier, and each claimant is being asked to confirm their contact information within 30 days. Please Note: The Class is represented by Thomas & Solomon LLP, and Kator, Parks, Weiser & Harris, PLLC. My work hours were cut down so much, and my pay was reduced so badly, I had no option but to retire. The McConnell Case (NRP Class Action) | Injured Federal Worker However, settlement is not possible in every case. We will also address the risks of leaving the EEO process and starting your case all over again in federal court, something we strongly recommend against without talking to a member of the legal team first. In particular, Judge Roberts-Draper indicated that she reviewed all the information submitted and ultimately ordered the parties to each submit certain information about claimants in an excel spreadsheet. NRP Class Action Against USPS Updates Fax number: (585) 272-0574 New Temporary Fax Line: (585) 625-0274 Current Developments Update - April 18, 2019 Status Update - Motion Filed to Force USPS to Submit NRP Files Now the EEOC Judge must evaluate the individual claims to determine what relief is appropriate for each claimant. Although as discussed above the Judge did not think it was a good idea to opt-out of this case, she noted that people have the legal right to do so. Due to these deficiencies and in the interest of ensuring that the spreadsheet is complete and accurate as ordered by the EEOC, the Administrative Judge granted a brief 30 day extension to complete their portion of the spreadsheet and to continue addressing deficiencies with the Agency. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Trackmaster Thomas & Friends Train Tank Engine - Red Passenger Coach - Hit Toy at the best online prices at eBay! My Manager told me that I might be sent to work for Walmart or another company. However, attorneys and staff are working remotely, and we are monitoring our voicemail. The claims, evidence, and legal briefs for all of our clients' relief claims have been submitted to the EEOC Administrative Judge. This website is intended for the sole use of claimants and their attorneys/representatives in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission class action involving the NRP and allegations of discrimination (Velva B, et al. On March 8, 2021, we followed the EEOC Administrative Judges orders, and filed a list of five potential Special Masters who can assist with processing the claims in this case. This is a big victory for all claimants, and a giant step toward conclusion of this process. We greatly appreciate your patience during this process. At the upcoming Status Conference we hope to learn more about the EEOCs plan to move this process forward. We strongly recommend that you do not opt out of this process. Thomas & Solomon has sent letters to members of the class in addition to USPS, which was required to notify those individuals of their eligibility to sign their names onto the suit within 10. Further, we urged the Judge to direct USPS to promptly provide claimants with the partial relief that USPS has already conceded in these claims. The EEOC previously approved us as Class Counsel in this case, and we will continue to advocate on behalf of the class as a whole. Therefore, these activity files should already be in the possession of Phase I Class Counsel. She emphasized, as she has previously, that the process may take some time, due to the very large number of claims. We have submitted a proposed plan to the Administrative Judge for consideration, but no order has yet been issued. Yes. Additionally, if you have recently updated your contact information with our office, please make sure to also update your information with the EEOC through the third party administrator. * Damage awards in other lawsuits are only identified as an example of the types of settlements obtained and EEOC rules and guidelines require all parties to be willing to discuss the possibility of settlement with the EEOC Judge. The Judge partially granted our motion. Do you need to file an individual appeal from the FAD? The USPS attorneys sought to use its repeated appeals as a way to stall the case further and challenge the Administrative Judges authority. The letters state that the USPS has possession of your settlement claim form from the Pittman class action, and you can request a copy of the claim form from the USPS. We are hopeful though that in the near future we will hear from the Administrative Judge so that the process can move forward. 520-2010-00280X; Agency No. Nevertheless, please keep in mind that the Postal Service can, and probably will, appeal every decision by the Administrative Judge that is favorable to any claimant. During the call, we voiced the frustration of our clients as to the continuous delay tactics used by the Agency that has made this process nearly fifteen years long and not yet complete. We will continue to provide updates on this website when we learn additional information about orders or decisions being issued by the Administrative Judge on claims. Salomon v Salomon - Case Summary - LawTeacher.net Top Class Action Lawsuit Attorneys Rochester NY | Thomas & Solomon The Declaration form contains information that the EEOC Judge has requested for each claimant. Due to these changes, please be aware that there may be delays in our offices responding to any inquiries. Name * First Last . Our 30% fee will not be applied to any part of your recovery that you are required to pay back to the United States due to alleged overpayment to you by OWCP or OPM or Social Security. U.S. We will take all steps necessary to provide the Judge with timely submissions for all our clients. Please note, if you reached out to our office recently and have not yet heard back from us, we are returning calls in the order received. Thank you for your prompt attention to this important task! Following the EEOC Administrative Judges request, the parties each provided additional information to assist in the process to evaluate claimant relief. Over the next few weeks, we will be sending out new forms to many of our clients to complete. Thank you! Please know that we are fighting for you, just as we have done for over 10 years. This proposal is consistent with many other successful class actions. Like the Judge, our ongoing pledge to you is to continue pushing the claims process forward as far as possible and as fast as possible. Postal Service NRP Class Action Kator, Parks, Weiser & Wright, PLLC, represents the class of U.S. Here are 10 things for every claimant to know RIGHT NOW: 1. We respond promptly to inquiries. The EEOC Administrative Judge may allow the parties to conduct discovery of documents and information, and take sworn depositions related to claims. The recording will be available 24 hours a day (7 days a week) until April 9, 2021. Nevertheless, we are prepared to file an appeal from the FADs by July 12, 2018. In the past few days, we have received a very large number of calls and emails related to this case. Significantly, the EEOC Administrative Judge made clear that only Thomas & Solomon LLP and Kator, Parks, Weiser & Harris PLLC, along with the Agency, will be working directly with the Judge both during the call itself and as we move forward with this process. A motion that was filed regarding claimants who had partially-accepted claims was discussed, and the judge set a schedule for the parties to submit written responses regarding the motion. A contingency fee is only paid if we obtain a recovery for you. Because of each of you and your willingness to speak out about the injustices you and others like you faced, the Agency has been found to have discriminated against injured employees and now they must face the consequences for their actions and provide relief to those people who are found to have been injured! On the other hand, if you have not yet retained Class Counsel to represent you in your individual claim, we will not include your name in our appeal from the FADs, and it will be necessary (in an abundance of caution) for you to file your own separate appeal notice to the EEOC before the deadline set forth in the FAD you receive. In response to the Administrative Judges February Order setting out a process to review claims by the use of Special Masters, the Postal Service filed a motion seeking to both delay the case and encourage as many class members as possible to withdraw from the case. For those clients who have not provided us with an email address, we are sending the forms via first-class mail, with a postage-paid return envelope. We continue to take every action we can to ensure that this process moves forward as quickly as possible. The Postal Service has sent forms to be completed by some claimants. For better or worse, this case presents numerous potential impediments to wide-spread settlement. If you have previously retained Class Counsel to represent you in your individual claim, we will specifically name you in our appeal from the FADs, and you do not need to submit a separate FAD appeal notice to the EEOC. Postal Service, EEOC Case No. Postal Service, EEOC Case No. As the Judge noted in her decision, the value and strength of the lawsuit is that there are so many people who the Commission has found to have been harmed by the NRP.. The Postal Service is disrupting the process by issuing premature FADs. On July 15, 2022, USPS submitted a spreadsheet to the EEOC Administrative Judge, and also to us as Phase I Class Counsel. We continue to take every action possible to help the Judge move this process forward. We strongly agree with this goal, and we pledge to continue our advocacy on behalf of all the claimants that we represent. Since the Agency has produced their portion of the spreadsheet, our attorneys have not only been working on their portions of the spreadsheet, but have also begun raising concerns with the Agency as to deficiencies in their portion of the spreadsheet. You may email our office at nrpclassaction@theemploymentattorneys.com or call us at 585-272-0540. Second, the Administrative Judge noted that review of claims has begun, and that she hopes to begin, if possible, issuing orders and decisions on claims in the coming months! This is just an example; witnesses should include an accurate description of the changes in you that they noticed. You should receive a form in the mail by March 18, 2019. Thomas & Friends Trackmaster JAMES MOTORIZED Train Tank Engine 2009 WORKS! In this way, todays Order marks a significant advance toward individual relief awards for each claimant. The EEOC does not require any particular format for medical information; medical reports, print-outs, and medical notes may all be provided. It has come to our attention that a number of people who were Class Members in the Pittman v. USPS class action have been receiving letters from USPS about that settlement process. * indicates required information We hope that we are now a big step closer to seeing actual relief provided to all those harmed by the NRP. Salomon v A Salomon & Co Ltd - Wikipedia 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. According to the decision, Phase 1 of NRP consisted largely of reviewing the files and medical records of all these employees; where needed requesting updated medical documentation from the employee; and verifying that current work actually being performed matched the current job offer.