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Human Relations Department |
National Reassessment Process
MSPB Issues Precedent-Setting Decision in NRP Cases
(03/05/12) Postal workers who were injured on the job won an important
victory on Feb. 24, when the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) issued
a precedent-setting decision in the case of James C. Latham et al v
USPS. The ruling has important implications for postal workers who
were affected by the Postal Service’s National Reassessment Process
(NRP). The MSPB decision affirms the Postal Service’s obligation
to restore employees who have been injured on the job to any medically
suitable work that is available, and affirms the MSPB’s jurisdiction
over appeals involving that issue. [read
more]
The Status of NRP
(08/10/11) Recently a Postal Service official
confirmed that as of December 2010 all reassessments were completed. As
a result, the National Reassessment Process protocols are no longer being
used. APWU was advised that official union notification has been delayed
until authorization is granted by the USPS Legal Department and Labor
Relations. Despite the declaration, we continue to receive numerous calls
regarding work-hour withdrawals and recurrence claims — an indication
that there is little call for celebration and continued cause for concern.
Compounding suspicions that NRP has been eliminated in name only
is a USPS field document that says existing limited-duty assignments will
continue to be altered; asserts that revised NRP documents will be used
prospectively, and specifies the agency will continue to rely upon the
Electronic Search System to document its search efforts. [read
more]
NRP Grievances Pending National-Level Grievances
(12/20/10) Director of Industrial Relations Mike Morris has clarified
the types of local- and regional-level grievances regarding the National
Reassessment Process (NRP) that should be held in abeyance pending the
outcome of Step 4 disputes at the national level. In a Dec.
16, 2010, memo [PDF] to APWU regional coordinators and national business
agents, Morris outlined three issues related to the NRP that are pending
arbitration. Cases that address these issues should await the outcome
of the national-level grievance.
National Reassessment Process Update
Unemployment Compensation
(September/October 2010) Injured employees who undergo the
National Reassessment Process (NRP) and are told by the Postal Service
either that there is only partial-day work available or that there is
no work available, should consider applying for unemployment compensation.
This temporary financial assistance can serve as an important monetary
bridge during the time that an employee is waiting for his or her OWCP
compensation to be processed. [read more]
When OWCP Denies Compensation Based
On a Previous Lost Wage Earning Capacity (LWEC) Determination
(07/30/10) Some employees who have had their medically suitable
job withdrawn by the Postal Service as a result of the National Reassessment
Process (NRP) are being denied wage loss compensation by OWCP because
of a previous LWEC decision. How does this happen? OWCP procedures require
that when an employee with an accepted claim has returned to work for
at least 60 days, the claim examiner (CE) should determine if the salary
that the claimant is being paid fairly and reasonably represents that
employee’s actual wage earning capacity. If the CE determines that
the employee’s pay does represent his or her actual ability to
earn a wage, then a formal LWEC decision is issued. [read
more]
Union Urges Affected Workers
To Complete NRP Questionnaire
(07/15/10) To strengthen the fight against the Postal Service’s
harsh National Reassessment Process (NRP), the APWU is encouraging
limited-duty and permanent-rehabilitation employees to complete a questionnaire
sponsored by a law firm that has filed a class-action complaint against
the USPS. The complaint alleges that the NRP discriminates against disabled
employees. The NRP, which was initiated nationwide in 2006, “is
part of an aggressive campaign by the Postal Service to reduce costs
by denying work to injured employees,” said APWU President William
Burrus. “The union
has fought the program every step of the way,” he said. [read
more]
NRP Limited
Duty |
Contesting
LWEC Determinations: |
Unemployment Compensation
And The National Reassessment Process (NRP)
(6/17/10) Injured employees who undergo the National Reassessment Process
(NRP) and are told by the Postal Service either that there is only
partial day work available or that there is no work available, should
consider filing for unemployment compensation. This temporary financial
assistance can serve as an important monetary bridge during the time
that an employee is waiting for his or her OWCP compensation to be
processed. [read more]
EEOC Upholds Class Action
(May/June 2010) On May 30, 2008, in the case of Sandra
McConnell et al v. United States Postal Service, an Administrative
Judge (AJ) for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) certified
a class action complaint alleging that the USPS had discriminated against
all rehabilitation and limited duty employees on the basis of disability
when it implemented the National Reassessment Process. The complainant
made numerous claims which the presiding AJ categorized into four broader
complaints: The NRP fails to provide a reasonable accommodation; creates
a hostile work environment; wrongfully discloses medical information;
and has an adverse impact on disabled workers. [read
more]
GAO Misses the Mark
(March/April 2010) The Government Accountability Office
(GAO) presented a 46-page report on the Postal Service’s National
Reassessment Process (NRP) to Congress recently, but failed to address
many glaring problems, including many issues raised by APWU representatives.
As evidenced by the report, the GAO fails to fully grasp the NRP, and
apparently has been duped by the Postal Service regarding the program’s
intentions and value. The GAO simply doesn’t seem to understand
the unnecessary employee hardships being caused by the program. The
GAO appears to be more concerned about substantiating its previously
stated position that postal employees’ compensation and benefits
should be reduced than it is about the cost of discriminating against
injured workers. [read more]
The Postal Service’s New
National Reassessment Process-Limited Duty
(October 2009) On May 29, 2009, the Postal Service completed a pilot program which was implemented in four Postal Service Districts and was designed to reassess limited duty jobs (limited duty jobs are for temporary medical conditions resulting from accepted on-the-job injuries). Subsequently, the APWU was notified that on July 27, 2009, the Postal Service had finalized their protocols and would begin implementing this limited duty National Reassessment Program (NRP) nationwide, District by District, on a staggered basis. We were informed that prior to the implementation of this limited duty NRP in a District, local union leadership would be notified and employees would receive a stand up talk regarding this program. Postal Service Headquarters has distributed to the field specific instructions that must be followed when a District implements this new process. [read more]
List of USPS Districts Currently Under
Phase 2 of the National Reassessment Proces
(Updated 09/10/09) The Postal Service continues to implement Phase 2 of the National Reassessment Process (NRP) in USPS Districts across the country. There is no set schedule that establishes a date when a particular District will begin Phase 2. Every USPS District should have already implemented Phase 1 of the NRP, which is the “information-gathering” phase. When a District completes this initial phase, they contact Postal Service Headquarters to seek approval to move forward into Phase 2, which is the “interview and decision-making phase.” [read more]
USPS Unleashes National
Reassessment Process (Phases 1 & 2)
(Updated 06/29/07) In mid-December, the APWU was notified that Phase 1 of the National Reassessment Process had been implemented nationwide. The Postal Service estimates that 33,707limited duty and rehabilitation employees will be reassessed under “NRP,” which was previously known as “Outplacement.” All 85 USPS Districts began Phase 1 of this national program on Nov. 6, 2006. [read more]
USPS Reassessment Process Background
(June 2006) The Postal Service aggressively monitors limited duty and rehabilitation assignments, and in May, 2005 notified the APWU that the USPS would begin a reassessment of rehabilitation jobs and limited duty assignments. The third pilot of the “Reassessment Process” (previously called “Outplacement”) was recently conducted in the USPS Western New York District. [read more]
