USPS to pay $141K after firing worker for reporting an injury, judge rules

An OSHA investigator alleged USPS “has a pattern of retaliating against probationary employees who report workplace injuries.”

• The U.S. Postal Service violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 when it fired a probationary worker in retaliation for reporting a workplace injury, a district judge held May 10 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
• The worker, a city carrier assistant, suffered a calf strain after climbing into the back of a vehicle to fix fallen mail trays, according to court documents. USPS then fired the worker for not using a boat hook to fix the trays instead, per court documents.
• U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson ordered USPS to pay the worker $141,307.50 for economic and emotional distress damages, and to expunge the worker’s record and state in her file that she is eligible for rehire, after the findings of a two-day court trial in April. USPS could not immediately be reached for comment.