THE NEVER ENDING LAWSUIT: Waiting on the end to the Dennis Turner Class action

By: James Vines

The year is 2021, and it is almost Thanksgiving. Many people will be glad to see the holiday come and go. Many people are looking forward to a new year and a fresh start. Many people will count their blessings and have lots to be thankful for. For some however, there will be little to be grateful for. For those thousands of people still waiting for justice from the Never Ending Litigation of the Dennis Turner Class Action, there is not much in the way of good news or reason to be thankful in 2021.
Since 1998 in the 20th century, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has been in litigation with thousands of plaintiff’s through an EEOC class action lawsuit. For nearly a quarter of a century the EEOC, the Plaintiff’s Lawyers and the Attorneys for the Federal Bureau of Prisons have been moving at a glacial pace in resolving the numerous EEOC complaints of alleged retaliation by the Federal Prison system against it’s employee’s for engaging in protected Whistle Blower Activity! The last hearing was held in September of 2020 with Administrative Judge Nancy Weeks, presiding. Since then there has been no relevant decision forthcoming. So as all sides seem to be frozen in a temporal time loop of inaction, thousands of current and former employees of the Federal Prison System are looking for their chance at justice and resolution. Since that time the United States has gone through a 20 year war and is on its fifth President. With no end in sight and no positive news, it makes you pause and think; will 2022 be the year where a resolution of this case comes to pass? Will there be a reason to be thankful next November? If the past actions of the EEOC and the legal representatives from both camps are any indication, there is likely to be little in the way of progress or reason to be thankful for years to come.