Sen. Frett-Gregory announced today that 425 former University of the Virgin Islands employees who separated from the university from Jan. 1, 1992, through Dec. 31, 1998, should contact UVI to begin the process of receiving their retroactive merit increases.
Bill No. 34-0334 (now Act No. 8646), which was sponsored by Frett-Gregory in the 34th Legislature, appropriated $1,176,670.49 to make the affected employees whole by Dec. 31, 2022.
“This matter came to my attention in the 34th Legislature, and through collaboration with UVI President David Hall, we were able to appropriate the necessary funds to ensure that those separated and, in most cases, retired employees of UVI were made whole by providing them their annual 3% merit increases,” said Frett-Gregory.
“The affected employees filed a class action lawsuit, and although the monies were appropriated to settle the matter, both sides had to wait for court approval before payments could proceed,” she said.
UVI has set up a process for eligible employees to receive their retroactive merit payment. Former employees can visit www.uvi.edu or use the following link: https://classsettlement.uvi.edu/login.php to determine their eligibility and provide the authorization to proceed with payment, if eligible.
“It is important that the affected employees visit the website or use the provided link to obtain their payment,” Frett-Gregory said. “According to UVI, only 10 former employees have requested payment so far even though it has announced the process in the newspaper. I am urging the community to reach out to family and friends who may have been separated from UVI during the period of January 1992 and December 1998 and ask them to check their eligibility,” she said.
“This is money those employees rightfully earned, and we must ensure that they are paid. The money is there; we just have to work to get those affected to complete the process. Individuals with questions are urged to contact UVI directly or can call my office at 693-3512,” said Frett-Gregory.
