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The USPS NATIONAL REASSESSMENT PROCESS
According to a recent announcement by the Office of Worker Compensation Programs:
“The United States Postal Service (USPS/Postal Service) has undertaken a National Reassessment Process (NRP) affecting a large number of Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) claimants who are currently working for the Postal Service but not at their date of injury position. Some of these claimants are working at a position for which they have received a loss of wage-earning capacity determination (LWEC), while other claimants working light duty positions have not received an LWEC rating. These employees are being advised that no light duty or little light duty (a few hours a day) is available. While the NRP process was piloted in certain areas serviced by a number of Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation (DFEC) district offices including San Francisco and Boston, the USPS NRP is now going beyond the piloting stage to nationwide implementation.” FECA Bulletin 09-05 at pages 13-20.In plain English, this means that if you are a Postal employee working at a limited duty job due to an on-the-job injury, sooner or later the Postal Service is going to try to show you the door.
Many Postal employees who are fired in this manner lose everything; their job and their OWCP wage replacement benefits, mainly because they are ignorant of their rights and do not know how to fight back with the correct legal and factual argument.
Some unions are helping people negatively impacted by this National Reassessment Process. If your union is doing so, and you feel confident in their ability to represent you effectively, by all means, you should obtain your union's help. After all, their services are free.
If you are an injured worker with an approved OWCP claim, you are a potential target. As soon as you hear that your position is being examined under the National Reassessment Process, seek help immediately. Do not wait until you are shown the door.
In most cases, depending on your circumstances, Mr. Brawner can help you fight back and secure wage replacement benefits from OWCP. In some cases, a return to work can be secured either through the EEOC or MSPB process. Please contact us as soon as possible.