Process and Formula for Identification of
Qualified Class Members[1]
to Receive Promotion Awards
1.
So that Class Counsel
may identify the Qualified Class Members entitled to receive a promotion award,
within fifteen (15) days of Final Approval, Goddard will provide Class Counsel
a database in readily usable format containing the following information for
each Qualified Class Member:
a.
Name and Social
Security Number;
b.
Current grade and
step if retirement eligible, or if retired, grade and step at retirement;
c.
Time in grade at
GS-13 and GS-14 through February 25, 2002, or retirement;
d.
Each grade change out
of GS-13 or GS-14, including both promotions and demotions during the Qualified
Class Member’s tenure at Goddard through February 25, 2002, or retirement,
and the date of each such change;
e.
The number of annual
“high ratings,” as defined in paragraph 4 below, each Qualified
Class Member received between April, 1991 and February 25, 2002; and
f.
If the Qualified
Class Member is retired, the retirement effective date.
2.
Within forty-five
(45) days of Final Approval, Class Counsel will make available to any Qualified
Class Member, on request, a synopsis of the data received by Class Counsel from
Goddard pertaining to that Qualified Class Member. Any Qualified Class Member desiring to receive this synopsis
may do so by writing within forty-five (45) days of approval to
“Administrator for NASA Goddard Class” at P.O. Box No. 10888,
Tallahassee, Florida 32302-2888.
Goddard shall also permit Class Counsel to post one representative of
Counsel at a Goddard building most convenient to the Class on or about the
thirty-fifth (35th) day following Final Approval so that Qualified
Class Members may verify their data in person. Qualified Class Members have sixty (60) days from Final
Approval to challenge in writing the accuracy of the data to be used in
determining their eligibility for a promotion award, which challenge must be in
writing, postmarked no more than 60 days following final approval, and
addressed to “Administrator for NASA Goddard Class” at P.O. Box No.
10888, Tallahassee, Florida 32302-2888.
Such challenge shall be strictly limited to demonstrable factual
inaccuracies concerning dates of hire, retirement, time in grade, and the like.
3.
Using the data identified
above, within one hundred twenty (120) days of Final Approval, Class
Counsel’s expert will perform an analysis of Qualified Class Members
currently in grades GS-13 and GS-14 to determine the appropriate time-in-grade
to be used for each Qualified Class Member. The time-in-grade for each Qualified Class Member will be
determined as follows:
a. For
each Qualified Class Member, the expert will compile a list of grades, limited
only to GS-13 and GS-14, that the Qualified Class Member served in between April
19, 1991 and February 25, 2002 or retirement. For each such grade, a calculation will be made of the
length of time that such Qualified Class Member served in that grade during the
entire time he or she worked in the federal civil service until February 25,
2002 or retirement. The
time-in-grade used for each Qualified Class Member will be the longest amount
of time that the employee spent in any single such grade.
For
example, if an employee currently in grade 14 served in grades 13 and 14 during
the period from April, 1991 to February 25, 2002, a calculation will be made of
the amount of time spent in each of grades 13 and 14. The result might be as follows: GS-13, 48 months; GS-14, 188 months. For purposes of calculating the
time-in-grade score, that Qualified Class Member would have a time-in-grade
score of 188 months based on the amount of time served as a GS-14. If the employee had served 188
months as a GS-13, his time-in-grade score would be 188 months because it is
based on the GS-13 grade.
b. All
Qualified Class Members would be listed in order in accordance with their
longest time-in-grade as calculated in paragraph 3(a). Thus, each employee will be placed in a
combined list of all GS-13 and GS-14s, with their time-in-grade being used to
place him or her in the correct order in relation to his or her peers. The Qualified Class Member with the
longest time in grade would receive a score equal to the number of Qualified
Class Members on the list. Then,
moving from the top of the list to the bottom, each Qualified Class Member
would receive one less point than the Qualified Class Member above him or her,
with the Qualified Class Member with the shortest time-in-grade receiving one
point.
For
example, if there are 115 Qualified Class Members, the Qualified Class Member
with the longest time-in-grade would receive 115 points. The Qualified Class Member with the
next highest time in grade would receive 114 points, and so on. Ties would be dealt with by averaging
the points available for the slots for which the Qualified Class Members are
tied. For example, if there were
115 employees, those with the second, third and fourth longest time-in-grade
would usually receive scores of 114, 113 and 112 respectively. However, if three employees tied for
the second longest time-in-grade, then each of them would receive the average
of the above scores, or a score of 113.
4. For each
Qualified Class Member, a calculation will be made as to the total number
collectively of “Outstanding,” “Highly Successful,” and
after 1997, “Pass” plus
an employee performance award (collectively referred to as “high
ratings”) annual ratings the employee received, limited to those received
when the employee was in a GS-13 or GS-14 position, and further limited to those
received following April 19, 1991 up to February 25, 2002. All Qualified Class Members would be
listed in order of Qualified Class Member with the highest number of high
ratings received. On the list, the
Qualified Class Member with the highest number of high ratings received would
receive a score equal to the number of Qualified Class Members on the
list. Then, moving from the top of
the list to the bottom, each Qualified Class Member would receive one less
point than the Qualified Class Member above, and so on, with the Qualified
Class Member with the fewest such ratings would receive one point. Ties would be addressed in the same
manner as paragraph 3 above.
5. For each
Qualified Class Member, a calculation also will be made by Class Counsel as to
the total number of points received by the Qualified Class Member for his or
her contribution to the prosecution and mediation of the case
(“contribution points”).
The maximum number of contribution points is equivalent to the maximum
number of time-in-grade points.
The formula for determining contribution points shall include such
factors as service as: Class
Agent; initiation and prosecution of the complaint; service as a Mediation
Representative; attendance at attorney-client strategy sessions for mediation;
substantive assistance to Class Counsel during mediation; and financial
contribution to litigation fund.
Qualified Class Members will not be ordered on a list descending by one
point with respect to their contribution points; rather each Qualified Class
Member will be eligible for the total number of such points available.
6. For each
Qualified Class Member, the number of points he or she is assigned for high
ratings pursuant to paragraph 4 above is added to the points assigned for
time-in-grade and contribution.
Qualified Class Members then are listed from highest to lowest number of
points as calculated in this paragraph.
Subject to the approval procedures set forth in the paragraphs below, promotions awards of one grade would be awarded to
Qualified Class Members who are numbers one through 12 on the list; except that
if the highest scoring Qualified Class Member has more than double the points
of the lowest scoring Qualified Class Member numbering one through 12 on the
list, such high scoring Qualified Class Member shall receive a two-grade
promotion award and only Qualified Class Members one through 11 on the list
would be promoted. If the next
highest scoring Qualified Class Member receives more than double the points of
the remaining lowest scoring Qualified Class Members on the list (numbers one
through 11), then two Qualified Class Members would receive two-grade promotion
awards and only Qualified Class Members one through 10 on the list would be
promoted, and so on.
Promotion award is as defined in Part III.C of the Decree.
For
example, assume that there are five Qualified Class Members currently employed
at Goddard in grades GS-13 and GS-14.
Those five Qualified Class Members would be ranked against each other in
terms of time-in-grade, number of annual highest ratings received and
contribution points. The results
might be as follows:
|
Qualified Class Member |
Months Counted for
Time-In-Grade |
Highest Ratings (HR)
Counted |
Contribution Points |
Total Points |
|
1 |
33 months (2 points) |
5 HRs (3 points) |
5 |
10 |
|
2 |
46 months (3 points) |
7 HRs (4 points) |
1 |
8 |
|
3 |
88 months (4 points) |
11 HRs (5 points) |
5 |
14 |
|
4 |
17 months (1 point) |
2 HRs (1 points) |
3 |
5 |
|
5 |
121 months (5 points) |
3 HRs (2 points) |
3 |
10 |
Further,
for purposes of this example, assuming there were five promotion awards to be
granted, Qualified Class Member 3 would receive a two-grade promotion award,
Qualified Class Member 1 a one-grade promotion award; Qualified Class Member 5
a one-grade promotion award; and Qualified Class Member 2 a one-grade promotion
award. Qualified Class
Member 4 would not receive a promotion award because Qualified Class Member 3
scored more than double his or her points. Qualified Class Member 1 would not receive a two-grade
promotion award because Qualified Class Member 4 would be dropped from this
list prior to calculation of Qualified Class Member 1’s promotion award,
and Qualified Class Member 1 did not score twice as high as the next lowest
scoring Qualified Class Member.
7. After completion of steps one through
six, Class Counsel shall promptly notify those Qualified Class Members of their
qualification for a promotion award, and that their proposed award is being
submitted to the presiding Administrative Judge for approval. Prior to submission of the
proposed awards to the presiding Administrative Judge, retirement eligible
Qualified Class Members will be given thirty (30) days from notice of their
qualification for an award to elect in writing to Class Counsel whether they
wish to accept the award and retire or to remain a current employee and decline
the award. During this same
thirty-day period, Qualified Class Members who do not qualify for a promotion
award may appeal their non-qualification to Class Counsel in writing. Such Class Members will be provided
with the mathematical computation of their own points exclusively (based on the
previously approved personnel data), and the sole basis for upholding an appeal
shall be a computational error.
The appeal must be postmarked within thirty (30) days of mailing of the
award notification, and mailed to “Administrator for NASA Goddard
Class” at P.O. Box No. 10888, Tallahassee, Florida 32302-2888.
8. After completion
of steps one through seven, Class Counsel shall file with the presiding
Administrative Judge, under seal, a list of the Qualified Class Members to
receive promotion awards and the type of award for approval, any appeals and
responses thereto, along with the calculations and ranked list of Qualified
Class Members.
9.
All proposed awards
are subject to adjustment pending resolution of any appeals and approval of the
presiding Administrative Judge.
10.
On the presiding
Administrative Judge’s approval of the promotion awards, Goddard shall
effect the promotion awards according to the procedures and time line set forth
in the Settlement Agreement.
[1] The term Qualified Class Member refers only to retired or retirement eligible Class Members who have spent at least five years at Goddard immediately prior to their retirement, and who have not previous to this Settlement signed a valid release of or had finally adjudicated a race discrimination claim for non-promotion to a GS-14 or GS-15 non-managerial, non-supervisory position as a scientist or engineer. Those who have settled such claims or have had such a claim adjudicated may not be eligible for an award, or may be eligible for a reduced award.