Pappas, et al. v. District of Columbia, et al., No. 19-cv-02800-RC (D.D.C.)

Case Summary

Mehri & Skalet and Brown Goldstein & Levy represent four former D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers challenging the District’s disability retirement policy.  The District has a policy that requires officers to be disability retired if they spend all or part of 172 work days in less than full duty status over any 2-year period.  The four officers, who are the plaintiffs, sued the District, claiming that the policy violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Plaintiffs allege that MPD must consider whether these officers could be reasonably accommodated – through reassignment, job restructuring, or extended leave – rather than forced to retire.

The case, Pappas, et al. V. District of Columbia, et al., No. 19-cv-02800-RC (D.D.C.), is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Judge Rudolph Contreras certified this case as a class action for injunctive relief only.  This means that the case is moving forward as a class action to determine the legality of the District’s disability retirement policy. 

In some class actions, a victory for the class would mean that class members would be eligible to receive money without independently filing suit themselves.  That is not true here.

If you were disability retired because of the District’s disability retirement policy and you want to try to recover money damages, you must act immediately.  Your options are to intervene in the existing lawsuit, file a separate lawsuit, and/or to file a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or DC Office of Human Rights.  The deadline to intervene in the case is January 23, 2025.

If you are a class member, the court has appointed lawyers from Mehri & Skalet and Brown Goldstein Levy to represent the class for purposes of challenging the legality of MPD’s involuntary disability retirement policy.  We are not bringing any claims you have for money damages and do not represent you for that purpose.

Key Documents

You may read key documents in the case by clicking on the links below.  The entire docket is available at https://pacer.uscourts.gov/.

• Order Setting Jan. 23, 2025 Deadline for Motions to Intervene (Oct. 11, 2024) here.

• Third Amended Complaint here.

• Order Partially Granting and Partially Denying Class Certification (Mar. 14, 2024) here.

• Order Staying Nunc Pro Tunc Class Certification Pending Decision on Notice (May 16, 2024) here.