All Sections ------------------------------- News & Events Pay & Benefits Departments & Divisions Members Only

Advanced Search

Printer-Friendly Page

Postal Employees Invited to Join
Class-Action Suit on 'Clock Rings'

APWU News Bulletin #21-2004, October 21 , 2004| PDF

Postal employees have been invited to join a lawsuit against the Postal Service if their clock rings were arbitrarily deleted by management in order to avoid overtime pay. Private attorneys representing four postal employees — including two APWU members — have filed a lawsuit against the USPS, and are seeking to establish the suit as a nationwide class action.

Current or former USPS employees who are interested in participating in the case must complete a Consent to Join form [PDF]. USPS employees who believe they were denied overtime within the past three years are eligible to submit a form.

Attorneys from Burr & Smith, a Tampa, FL, law firm, are encouraging union members to file, even if they are not sure whether overtime was deleted from their time records. “In many cases no notice was provided to employees of disallowed overtime,” they wrote.

The attorneys plan to use the Postal Service’s own computer records to demonstrate the violations of the employees’ rights.

Employees who complete the consent form could be eligible for payment for lost wages and “liquidated damages” if the suit is successful or an out-of-court settlement is reached.

Postal employees can call 1-888-316-8870 for additional information.

Workers Taking Early Retirement May
Be Eligible for Healthcare Coverage

APWU members who retired or plan to retire under the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) may be eligible to retain their health benefits, even if they had coverage for less than five years, according to Office of Personnel Management regulations.

Under normal circumstances, employees who have less than five years of coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefit program (FEHB) cannot continue their federal health insurance after they retire. OPM regulations, however, make an exception for employees who participate in early-outs, granting them pre-approved waivers of the five-year requirement.

The employing agency must attach a memorandum to employees’ retirement applications, notifying them about whether they meet the waiver requirements. Employees who are considered ineligible can send a written request to OPM three months before their retirement date, seeking a waiver.

Other questions about VERA should be directed to your local personnel office.

Members Invited to APWU Officers’ Installation

APWU members are invited to attend the Installation of National Officers Dinner-Dance on Nov. 13.

The event will be held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road NW, Washington DC 20008. The ceremonial affair will feature the swearing-in of new and returning officers, and will also be a celebration of APWU accomplishments.

Tickets are $60 per person and must be purchased by Oct. 29. Ticket requests should be accompanied by full payment and sent to the Secretary-Treasurer’s office, to the attention of Judy Beard. The address is American Postal Workers Union, 1300 L St. NW, Washington DC 20005. For more information, visit the union’s Web site, at www.apwu.org/dept/sec-treas/stinstall040914.htm.

Correction

The Oct. 12 News Bulletin, which reported the national union officers elected in recent balloting, omitted the names of two National Business Agents whose positions were uncontested. Nilda Chock returns as the NBA for the Pacific Area, and Bill Manley is the new NBA for Support Services. Complete election results will appear in the November/December issue of The American Postal Worker.

[back to top]