http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A17544-2003May20?la=
Five deaf postal workers have filed a class-action lawsuit in Washington demanding that the U.S. Postal Service provide qualified sign language interpreters during work meetings at facilities nationwide.
The 28-page lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court, says the U.S. Postal Service has ignored numerous requests over the years to provide interpreters, a problem that "was exacerbated by the anthrax crisis" in 2001 when some hard-of-hearing workers at the Brentwood facility in Northeast Washington had difficulty grasping the life-and-death issues. There are more than 2,400 deaf and hard-of-hearing postal workers nationwide.
The lawsuit says the absence of trained interpreters at meetings has caused deaf and hard-of-hearing workers to miss vital information "to do their jobs safely and effectively and has resulted in, and continues to cause, great frustration, anxiety, embarrassment and distress to hundreds, if not thousands, of deaf and hard-of-hearing employees."
Elaine Gardner, an attorney for the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs who is involved in the civil rights suit, says the Postal Service has ignored its obligation for far too long.
"The Postal Service for years has not communicated well with its deaf employees," she said. "This lawsuit could have been brought 20 years ago. The anthrax situation highlights just how very important communication is for postal workers."
Postal officials declined to comment on pending litigation.
Bruce C. Hubbard, 54, of Lanham, Md., one of five postal workers who filed the suit, said he filed several complaints under Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines demanding interpreters at general work meetings.
"I filed and filed and filed, and management ignored us," he said.
At one point, the Postal Service started providing interpreters for special meetings for the deaf and hard of hearing to update them on issues, but much information from the main employee meetings was never communicated, Hubbard said.
He said the Postal Service only recently began providing interpreters at the regular employee meetings at his facility in Capitol Heights, but the problem still exists in other places.
He said the issue became particularly troublesome during the anthrax crisis, in which two co-workers died and several others fell ill.
"When anthrax came up, it made it much worse because of the dangerous issues involved," he said.
He said postal management conducted a meeting in the parking lot the day the Brentwood facility closed in fall 2001. He said a supervisor knew some sign language but was too busy to communicate with the deaf workers.
"He did not tell us what was going on," Hubbard said. "We were totally lost."
Hubbard said he finally pulled his supervisor aside and handed him a note asking what was going on. He said the supervisor responded in writing: "Two people died."
"I was really scared," he said.
He said the postal workers then went to a meeting at Judiciary Square. He said a co-worker provided some interpreting, but she was not certified.
"She didn't know many signs," he said.
He said everyone started lining up to take medication, Cipro.
"We felt confused and angry," he said. "We were forced to take medication, and we didn't understand why."
Gardner says the lawsuit boils down to equal treatment for the deaf and hard of hearing.
"There's a lot of communication about safety" on the job, she said. "If the deaf people are not getting that, they are not as safe as the other workers."
The civil rights lawsuit was filed on behalf of postal workers from Ohio, Maryland, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. The lead law firm for the group is Covington & Burling, which is based in Washington.
Five deaf postal workers have filed a class-action lawsuit in Washington demanding that the U.S. Postal Service provide qualified sign language interpreters during work meetings at facilities nationwide.
The 28-page lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court, says the U.S. Postal Service has ignored numerous requests over the years to provide interpreters, a problem that "was exacerbated by the anthrax crisis" in 2001 when some hard-of-hearing workers at the Brentwood facility in Northeast Washington had difficulty grasping the life-and-death issues. There are more than 2,400 deaf and hard-of-hearing postal workers nationwide.
The lawsuit says the absence of trained interpreters at meetings has caused deaf and hard-of-hearing workers to miss vital information "to do their jobs safely and effectively and has resulted in, and continues to cause, great frustration, anxiety, embarrassment and distress to hundreds, if not thousands, of deaf and hard-of-hearing employees."
Elaine Gardner, an attorney for the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs who is involved in the civil rights suit, says the Postal Service has ignored its obligation for far too long.
"The Postal Service for years has not communicated well with its deaf employees," she said. "This lawsuit could have been brought 20 years ago. The anthrax situation highlights just how very important communication is for postal workers."
Postal officials declined to comment on pending litigation.
Bruce C. Hubbard, 54, of Lanham, Md., one of five postal workers who filed the suit, said he filed several complaints under Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines demanding interpreters at general work meetings.
"I filed and filed and filed, and management ignored us," he said.
At one point, the Postal Service started providing interpreters for special meetings for the deaf and hard of hearing to update them on issues, but much information from the main employee meetings was never communicated, Hubbard said.
He said the Postal Service only recently began providing interpreters at the regular employee meetings at his facility in Capitol Heights, but the problem still exists in other places.
He said the issue became particularly troublesome during the anthrax crisis, in which two co-workers died and several others fell ill.
"When anthrax came up, it made it much worse because of the dangerous issues involved," he said.
He said postal management conducted a meeting in the parking lot the day the Brentwood facility closed in fall 2001. He said a supervisor knew some sign language but was too busy to communicate with the deaf workers.
"He did not tell us what was going on," Hubbard said. "We were totally lost."
Hubbard said he finally pulled his supervisor aside and handed him a note asking what was going on. He said the supervisor responded in writing: "Two people died."
"I was really scared," he said.
He said the postal workers then went to a meeting at Judiciary Square. He said a co-worker provided some interpreting, but she was not certified.
"She didn't know many signs," he said.
He said everyone started lining up to take medication, Cipro.
"We felt confused and angry," he said. "We were forced to take medication, and we didn't understand why."
Gardner says the lawsuit boils down to equal treatment for the deaf and hard of hearing.
"There's a lot of communication about safety" on the job, she said. "If the deaf people are not getting that, they are not as safe as the other workers."
The civil rights lawsuit was filed on behalf of postal workers from Ohio, Maryland, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. The lead law firm for the group is Covington & Burling, which is based in Washington.
