By
SHERRY HALBROOKAfter a long struggle, PEF’s class-action lawsuit charging the state Labor Department with discrimination has been settled.
As part of a broad campaign – that also involved mobilizing members and building public and legislative support – PEF sued the DOL in August 2005 to stop the agency from closing its Telephone Claims Center (TCC) in Manhattan.
The center was closed in December 2006, affecting 143 PEF members who were forced to relocate, transfer to other agencies or retire.
A recently negotiated settlement provides monetary relief for certain members of that group, and DOL also agreed to hire 12 additional labor services representatives.
Following a fairness hearing, New York County Supreme Court Justice Marcy Friedman approved the settlement agreement July 28, 2009.
How it played out
PEF’s class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of all of the black, Hispanic and Asian employees of the Manhattan-based claims center, on the grounds that closing it would violate their rights under the state Human Rights Law.
PEF was concerned that not only were the center’s minority employees adversely affected by its closing, New York’s large minority and foreign-born population would be disadvantaged too by the loss of the center’s many bilingual staff.
The center was staffed predominately by minority employees, and its functions were transferred to DOL’s only other two TCCs (located in Troy and Endicott/Glendale), which were staffed by predominately white employees.
The New York city-based TCC employees were told to transfer to Troy or Glendale or lose their jobs as state labor services reps. Eventually, some transferred, some found jobs at other state agencies, and some retired. No PEF members in full-time, permanent titles were among those laid-off.
In court, the DOL commissioner and managers said they closed the NYC TCC because reduced federal funding forced the agency to cut costs and consolidate functions of the TCCs. They said since the work of all three TCCs was primarily done by phone, it could all be done upstate where overhead costs less.
Also the lease of the NYC TCC was the first to come up for renewal.
“We realized the defendants probably would be able to show a non-discriminatory reason for transferring the function of the NYC TCC to two upstate TCC offices and that alternatives were considered,” said PEF Deputy General Counsel Lisa King, “and we should pursue DOL’s offer to settle.”
The settlement
The settlement agreement pays $3,500 to each PEF member covered by the lawsuit who was forced to move to Troy or Glendale to keep their jobs as labor services reps, or who retired when the NYC TCC closed.
Also, any of them who didn’t receive a performance (longevity) award because of the closure of the NYC TCC, will receive one. And their leave accruals will be restored if they lost time from work on certain dates to be in PEF-sponsored protests of the closure or to attend or testify before the Legislature. If they’ve retired, they will be paid for those accruals.
Lastly, the DOL has hired 12 additional labor services reps, the title most affected by the closing of the NYC TCC, to work in Troy and Glendale.
Over the years since the lawsuit arose, the state and DOL came under new administration and attitudes changed.
In authorizing the settlement offer, current DOL Commissioner Patricia Smith said the agency wants to provide “some form of compensation to these employees, both current and former, (to) reduce the hardship (they) faced as a result of the NYC TCC closure.”
“While we were unable to keep the NYC TCC open, we think this settlement is the best result we could have obtained under the circumstances and there is an overall benefit to PEF based on the additional hires,” King said.
PEF member Evarist Nicholas, the lead plaintiff in the suit, praised King and the union’s efforts to prevent the closing and get justice.
“PEF did the best it could with this. But what hurts and saddens me is that our issue of discrimination was not addressed, and when DOL filled those new positions with non-minorities, they just made the problem worse,” Nicholas said.
She and King both praised Smith for trying to do the right thing in a situation she inherited after the call center was closed.
