UTNO Victory in Sabbatical Sick Leave Lawsuit
On May 26, 2009, Civil District Court Judge Sidney Cates gave preliminary approval to a settlement of UTNO’s class action against OPSB claiming that OPSB failed to distribute savings from amendments to the sabbatical leave and sick leave laws in 1999.
Notices will be sent out by June 15, 2009. Persons who wish to file a claim to participate in the settlement must complete the Claims Form and return it postmarked not later than October 15, 2009.
If the Court grants final approval to the settlement on December 1, 2009, and if there are no objections to the settlement, checks should be mailed prior to December 31, 2009.
Important note: this settlement has nothing to do with the wrongful termination class action lawsuit filed after Katrina, which is currently working its way through the court system.
What are the eligibility requirements?
To be eligible, you must have been employed by the Orleans Parish School Board as a regularly certificated, tenured, full-time teacher, librarian, guidance counselor, school psychologist, or social worker, and you were not on a leave without pay for more than one-half of the eligible school year. You must have worked in a position which was eligible for a sabbatical leave during the time period of the 1999-2000 school year through the 2003-2004 school year.” These positions were identified by the State Department of Education.
You are not eligible to be a member of the class for any year that you were a clerical/secretary, para-educator, nurse, support and appraisal employee, speech pathologist, temporary teacher, non-tenured teacher, substitute teacher, retired/returned to work teacher or a non-fully certified teacher.
Eligible persons must submit a claims form postmarked not later than October 15, 2009.
In order to receive payment, all qualified class members must complete a Claims Form. UTNO has compiled a list of all persons who have been identified as potential class members. The list has been compiled and updated post-Katrina from UTNO’s own records and OPSB records. (Claim forms will be mailed to all eligible participants.)
Claims forms will be distributed between June 15-20, 2009, and persons claiming funds will be required to return signed forms that must be postmarked not later than October 15, 2009. This claim form is only for the sabbatical/sick leave class action, and has nothing to do with any other class actions that are pending against OPSB.
Claims forms mailed to potential class members will be accompanied by a Notice that will contain detailed information. This Notice will also be published on UTNO’s website.
How much money class members will receive (estimated).
Distributions to class members from the Settlement Fund will be based upon the following formula: For each academic school year during which the OPSB experienced cost savings for sabbatical and sick leave, the amount of the savings will be divided among eligible class members on a pro-rata basis.
UTNO has calculated an estimate of the amount of money that each qualified person will receive. The final amount will be determined by the number of persons who submit claims forms. In order to be eligible, you are not required to be currently employed by OPSB.
In addition to direct mail, Legal Notices will be published in the New Orleans Times Picayune, Baton Rouge Advocate, Houston Chronicle, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Dallas Morning News, Memphis Commercial Appeal, USA Today, Louisiana Weekly, and in Vincent Sylvain’s newsletter.
If the Court grants final approval to the settlement on December 1, 2009, checks should be mailed prior to December 31, 2009.
Click on the Additional Resources link below to view the Sabbatical Sick Leave Lawsuit Full Article that includes an estimate of the amount of money each qualified participant will receive.
Additional Resources
