Workers Sue Postal Service, Allege Rights Violations
By Lynn LaRowe Texarkana Gazette
They’re supposed to work through rain, sleet and snow—but not through lunch and off-the-clock, according to a class action lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court on behalf of mail carriers.
The suit accuses U.S. Postal Service supervisors and higherups, particularly in the Southwest, of implementing a policy that violates the federal Fair Labor Standards Act by cheating non-exempt, hourly, city postal carriers of overtime pay.
To cut costs, routes are “overburdened” and cannot be served in an eight-hour day, said the complaint filed by Waco lawyers Matthew Morrison and Billy Davis of the firm Harrison, Davis & Steakley, and McGregor, Texas, attorney Rebecca Fisher.
City postal carrier employees have “... had overtime disallowed, had time improperly changed by a supervisor, been required to work through lunch to complete their route, worked while offthe-clock and/or worked overtime and not been paid,” the complaint said. “Class members who have not been able to deliver the route in eight hours or less have faced discipline, including emergency suspension and proposed termination.”
The suit was filed on behalf of seven Texas mail carriers, including Doyle Hickson of Linden in Cass County, Texas, and about 20,000 “others similarly situated” in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Mexico.
“Our clients and class members have been denied proper overtime wages by the USPS for years,” Morrison said. “Billy Davis, Rebecca Fisher and I look forward to proving that in court.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Postal Service had not responded to a request for comment.
The USPS, as a governmental entity, has 60 days from the time it is served with the carrier’s complaint to file an answer. The suit has been assigned to U.S. District Judge David Folsom’s court in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas.
The suit asks that any hourly waged carrier who has worked in one of those states within three years prior to the date the suit was filed to the date the suit is finally disposed be included as a class member.
Letter carriers take short lunch breaks or work through them altogether to finish their routes and satisfy management, the suit said.
“... Through policy implemented from within the USPS headquarters and that filters down to Regional Vice Presidents and local station managers,” the Postal Service refuses to pay for time worked in excess of eight hours a day, the complaint alleged.
The complaint argues that a class action is preferable to individual lawsuits for several reasons.
Mail carriers likely “... lack the financial resources to vigorously prosecute separate lawsuits in court against a large and sophisticated defendant with significant financial resources,” the complaint said.
Also, the amount of damages a single carrier might receive if the suit resolves favorably for them wouldn’t be enough to offset the expense of a lawsuit, the complaint argued.
Suing as a group means every carrier with a complaint will receive the same treatment and that the Postal Service will not find itself dealing with conflicting court orders, the suit said.
Damages, including unpaid wages, interest, attorney’s fees and court costs, are requested.
An injunction is also sought that would prevent the Postal Service from retaliating against any of the named plaintiffs, potential class members or witnesses that might testify.