NAPS won another victory in its lawsuit against the Postal Service when the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that NAPS is entitled to some discovery in its challenge of USPS pay actions. Before the decision, there had been no case law addressing whether discovery (requests for documents and written questions that must be answered under oath) was available for a challenge to Postal Service action as violating the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970.
In a 20-page decision on Aug. 15, Senior District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered discovery to proceed relating to the size and adequacy of the supervisor pay differential the USPS paid to eligible EAS personnel as part of the 2016-19 pay package. The judge also ordered the Postal Service to identify which EAS labor-management personnel at Area and Headquarters facilities are purportedly ineligible for NAPS representation, in light of NAPS’ right to represent EAS personnel at those facilities (as confirmed by the DC District Court of Appeals in its 2022 decision). The judge limited discovery on private-sector pay comparability, but left the merits of NAPS’ pay comparability claim to be decided later.
In late August, lawyers for NAPS and the Postal Service filed a proposed discovery order with the court that would establish a 90-day period for discovery. “We are pleased our case is moving ahead,” NAPS President Ivan D. Butts said. “We remain confident our rightful claims will be vindicated.”