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Washington, D.C.-The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) and the federal government are scheduled to meet in district court tomorrow to update the court on the status of the "special rates" class action, a case covering more than 188,000 current and former federal employees. Millions of dollars in back pay are due to special rate federal employees under a 1998 court of appeals decision.

"We requested the status conference to impress upon the court that the government needs to act promptly and fulfill its obligation to provide back pay to these employees," NTEU National President Colleen M. Kelley said.

In January 1998, NTEU prevailed in its class action lawsuit when a federal court determined that special rate employees were denied salary increases in the 1980s due to an illegal OPM regulation. That decision, issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, held that the government owed affected employees back pay, but sent the case back to the district court to determine the proper award due individuals. Since the 1998 court decision, NTEU has attempted to persuade the government to agree to a plan to pay these federal employees the back pay owed them.

"The time for the government to pay up is long past," Kelley said. "The court has clearly ruled, without question, that the government owes the money. It must reach agreement with NTEU, without further delay, on a method for meeting its obligations. There is no good excuse as to why, more than two and a half years after the court's ruling, the government still hasn't come to grips with its duty to pay."

NTEU first challenged the regulation in 1983, and the case was certified as a class action. The case was prompted by the implementation of an OPM regulation which provided that annual salary increases given to federal employees under the General Schedule would have no effect on special rate employees-those workers who are paid at higher levels because they work in occupations that are difficult to fill due to their job duties or locations. The effect of the rule, later determined to be illegal, was that many special rate employees received little or no pay increases from 1982 through 1988.

The status conference is open to members of the media and the public. For more information on the history of the special rates case, visit NTEU's special rate website at www.nteu.org/specrates.html or call the NTEU special rates hotline at (202) 347-8388.

Special Rate Status Conference

Date:

Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2000

Time:

10:30 a.m.

Place:

U.S. District Courthouse

3rd and Constitution Ave., N.W.

Washington, D.C.

Courtroom 15

Judge:

John Garrett Penn