The U.S. Department of Labor said Tuesday it obtained a “landmark injunction” from a federal judge in Washington state against the U.S. Postal Service preventing the agency from retaliating against employees who report workplace injuries.
The injunction follows an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that found the Postal Service violated federal law that prohibits employers from retaliating against workers for reporting injuries.
“By issuing the broadest permanent anti-retaliation injunction to date, the U.S. District Court has recognized the U.S. Postal Service’s pattern of ignoring its own policies and unlawfully firing probationary workers who report injuries,” Marc Pilotin, DOL regional solicitor of labor in San Francisco, said in a statement.
Under a consent judgment, the Postal Service will pay $183,732 in lost wages, interest and damages to three employees found to be unlawfully terminated.
The DOL said it began suing the Postal Service in 2020 to protect probationary employees from retaliation in California, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington state who faced retaliatory discharges.
The court order was issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Tacoma.