Paulette Taylor and Harriett Gantt file federal class action complaint on behalf of Black Female class members whose claims were denied by the Administrative Judge’s Decision and the OFO

On September 26, 2019, Paulette Taylor and Harriett Gantt filed a class action complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore challenging the Social Security Administration’s race and gender discrimination against Black Females regarding denial of promotions at SSA Headquarters.  The case asserts the same type of challenge to SSA’s promotion discrimination against Black Females that was the subject of the administrative litigation known as Taylor and Harley, et al. v. Commissioner, Social Security Administration that, after almost two decades, culminated in the recent OFO appellate decision affirming the Administrative Judge’s decision.  See other entries on this website for details about those decisions.

The new case is captioned Taylor and Gantt, et al. v. Saul, Commissioner of the U.S. Social Security Administration.  The federal court class action covers all Black Females’ promotion claims who were covered by Taylor and Harley, except GS-11’s.  That is because the GS-11’s won their claims in the Administrative Judge’s decision in Taylor and Harley and that decision was affirmed by the OFO.  Accordingly, the Taylor and Gantt complaint covers the promotion claims of Black Females at SSA HQ in GS-7, GS-8, GS-9, GS-10, GS-12, and GS-13, since the beginning of the Taylor and Harley case.  The Clerk of the Court assigned civil case number CCB-19-2830.  Taylor and Gantt, who are both proposed as class representatives in the federal case, filed the case pro se (meaning, on their own, as parties), but will be seeking new counsel for the litigation.  While not available for the new federal litigation, Taylor and Harley class counsel did assist Taylor and Gantt with the crafting of the complaint and will assist them in the search for new litigation counsel

The GS-11 promotions claims from the Taylor and Harley, et al. v. Commissioner, Social Security Administration case in the EEOC are currently the subject of a Motion For Reconsideration filed by the SSA.  Therefore, no notice has yet been delivered to GS-11’s regarding the next step for the GS-11’s in the administrative proceedings.  It is unknown how long the OFO will take to decide the Motion For Reconsideration regarding the GS-11’s, but that is why GS-11’s were not included in the Taylor and Gantt federal filing – to include GS-11’s would have given up their not-quite-complete victory in the administrative proceedings.  If the Motion For Reconsideration is denied, the GS-11’s will receive notice from the Agency and will be able to proceed to individual liability and damages proceedings with a presumption of liability – significant because the presumption is difficult to overcome.  Taylor and Harley Class Counsel will be available to represent GS-11’s in these future proceedings.