Announcement Regarding State Early Retirement Incentive Program

What is it?

The State is currently offering State employees early retirement incentives under the "State Employee Retirement Incentive Program" (SERIP).  Anyone taking early retirement under SERIP releases the State from any claims or lawsuits, except those lawsuits filed on or before the last date of employment.

How will it affect the Class Action?

Counsel for Plaintiffs attempted to secure the following assurances from the State:  1) that any potential class member to this lawsuit could take advantage of the SERIP and still recover money damages from the lawsuit, if any are recovered, and 2) that any potential class member who has filed a lawsuit but is not a named Plaintiff to the lawsuit could take advantage of the SERIP and still recover money damages from the lawsuit, if any are recovered.

The State will not give such assurances.

What does this mean?

If you are not a named Plaintiff, and you are an African American who has applied for employment with the State and have been denied a job, promotion, or interview (in other words, you are a potential class member), and you wish to recover monetary damages from this case, if any are recovered, you should file a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission immediately (for more information, see below).    You must file a complaint by April 15, 2010 (this is the deadline to take advantage of the SERIP).

If you have questions, you should consult an attorney.

General Putative Class Member Information

To date, the plaintiffs have not asked the Court for the right to pursue claims on behalf of other African-Americans (a class action) and the Court has not given them that right.  At some point, however, the plaintiffs will ask the Court for the right to seek relief on behalf of other African-Americans.

From what we understand, the State believes each person who would be a member of any class the Court may certify must file his or her own charge of discrimination despite the fact that a class action lawsuit is pending.  The plainitffs disagree with this position, but the Court has not ruled on this issue. 

Given our understanding of the State's position, you may want to consult an attorney about filing a charge of discrimination if you believe you have been discriminated against with respect to an employment opporutnity by the State or its executive branch agencies.

If you choose to do so, you may file a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  The addresses are:

Iowa Civil Rights Commission
Grimes State Office Building
400 East 14th Street
Des Moines, IA 50319-1004
(515) 281-4121
www.state.ia.us/government/crc/

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Milwaukee District Office
310 West Wisconsin Ave., Ste. 800
Milwaukee, WI 53203-2292
(414) 297-1111
www.eeoc.gov

If you do not file a civil rights complaint, you may be forever barred from filing a lawsuit or recovering damages for your legal claims.


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