The U.S. Postal Service's USD 61 million settlement

The Postal Service has agreed to pay USD 61 million to resolve a set of claims involving workplace disability discrimination.

The claims were filed by more than 7,500 current and former postal workers. According to Denver labor law attorney Kim Ryan, it’s the biggest case of its type.

A Denver man – who was injured on the job, put into a rehabilitation position, but then was never moved from that job or promoted – is the USPS worker who initially filed the lawsuit.

The USPS vigorously fought against allegations it discriminated against its employees, but ultimately – it did settle. It will also have to train its managers on workplace discrimination as part of the settlement.

Ryan says this case is a reminder that although workplaces should do their best to accommodate disabled employees, they shouldn’t pigeonhole them into one job for an extended period of time, because they may be able to a lot more.

Background on the Case

The suit was filed in 1992 by Chandler Glover, now 65, of Aurora. He said he was denied advancement opportunities by USPS officials in Denver after he was injured on the job in 1991.

The Postal Service hotly disputed the allegations. There was no “smoking gun” memo or document proving that the Agency had a practice or unwritten policy of denying advancement and promotion opportunities to the class.

In fact, according to Glover’s lawyer, the Postal Service offered a plausible explanation of the lower promotion rates of class members–the very impairments that rendered them disabled limited their interest and ability to be promoted. Nevertheless, the Postal Service ultimately settled with the class, agreeing to pay back pay and other monetary relief, but the settlement agreement includes no admission of wrongdoing.