New York (July 31, 2013) — A Washington federal judge on Thursday gave final approval to a settlement agreement requiring the U.S. Postal Service to fork over $4.5 million to end a decade long class action alleging that the agency did not provide reasonable accommodations to its deaf and hearing-impaired employees.

The deal was approved by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon and guarantees at least a $10,000 reward to each of the 11 class representatives and also requires USPS to implement new technology and management structures to better accommodate its deaf and hearing-impaired employees. Law360

Other highlights of the settlement..

The settlement is valued at $4,550,000. The Court awards 20% of this fund, or $910,000, to Class Counsel as attorneys’ fees. The Court also awards $114,216.69 in expenses to Class Counsel. This leaves $3,525,783.31 in monetary relief for distribution to the Class Representatives, class members, and claims administration costs.

The Agreement provides for injunctive relief, including state-of-the-art and improved management structures designed to enable all deaf and hearing-impaired USPS employees to fully and safely participate in the workplace.

The Agreement requires USPS to make available American Sign Language (“ASL”) interpreting services for important workplace communications including hiring, promotion, discipline, and safety discussions. USPS will train supervisors on the new requirements and technology. It will also create various internal management structures to monitor the provision of accommodations. An independent ombudsman will also monitor compliance and enforcement of the Agreement.

The Agreement also provides monetary relief to compensate eligible damages class members. Each Class Representative is entitled to a baseline award of $10,000 for his or her work on behalf of the class, and each eligible damages class member is entitled to a baseline award of $250.

All remaining funds (less claims administration costs) will be allocated to eligible class members based on the severity of the harm they allegedly suffered as a result of USPS’ failure to provide reasonable accommodations. The parties estimated that half of the approximately 6,000 eligible class members will submit a claim, and the average award will be $927.

The Postal Service has also agreed to take the following steps designed to ensure that it complies with the terms of this Global Settlement Agreement and its obligation to provide reasonable communications accommodations to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees:

Toll-Free Number or Device.The Postal Service will create a toll-free number or device that will allow Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees to provide comments or register concerns about communication accommodation issues for a three (3) year period.

Postal Service Reasonable Accommodation Assistance Center. The Postal Service has created an organizational unit known as the Postal Service Reasonable Accommodation Assistance Center (PRAAC) to monitor compliance with, and enforcement of the Global Settlement Agreement and to ensure that disabled employees, including Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees, are provided reasonable accommodations.

District Disability Coordinator. The ad hoc position of District Disability Coordinator will also be established and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees can raise concerns and issues about their accommodation(s) with this individual. Further, Disability Coordinators will now be members of the established District Reasonable Accommodation Committees (DRACs) and will work with the DRACs to ensure that a Deaf or Hard of Hearing Employee is receiving the communication accommodations provided for in his or her Communication Accommodation Plan.

Interactive Discussions with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees.The District Disability Coordinators in each District will join the established DRAC in his or her District and will engage in interactive discussions with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees to discuss accommodation issues for individual Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees in each District and to ensure that the Postal Service is in compliance with the provisions of this Global Settlement Agreement.

The Position of Ombudsman. In addition, an independent Deaf and Hard of Hearing ombudsman (Ombudsman) will be established for a three (3) year period to monitor the Postal Service’s compliance in providing the injunctive relief specified under the terms of the Global Settlement Agreement. The Ombudsman will receive concerns or comments from Deaf or Hard of Hearing Employees concerning issues relating to compliance with the injunctive relief terms of the Global Settlement Agreement and will forward these comments and concerns to the Postal Service for a response and/or resolution. The Ombudsman will also receive quarterly reports regarding the Postal Service’s compliance with the terms of the Global Settlement Agreement for a three (3) year period.

see full case dated July 31, 2013 (PDF)