Welcome to the COLA Settlement Website.

Updated: Supplemental checks were issued on February 10, 2006 to all eligible class members who had properly submitted a Supplemental Claim Form. The Trustee has decided to extend the deadlines for claim submissions and cashing checks to March 31, 2006, and for requesting reissuance of lost checks to April 14, 2006. (Please see the Important Dates portion of the website for a more detailed explanation of the extensions granted.)

Warning: As previously stated on this website, supplemental checks issued in February expired on March 10, 2006. All outstanding checks will be voided with the bank as of April 3, 2006. If you attempt to cash one of these outdated checks, you may be charged a fee by your bank. The Trust will NOT refund any fees associated with attempting to cash a stale dated check.

Please review this site carefully as new information is now available regarding a possible supplemental distribution (representing around 1 ½ % of your original amount of back pay). Eligible class members who wish to participate must submit notarized claim forms by December 21, 2005. No extensions will be granted. The claims administrator will report these payments to the Internal Revenue Service, and payment information may become available to state or local taxing authorities. Each eligible class member who intends to submit a claim should obtain professional tax advice concerning the tax consequences.

This class action settlement involves all persons who received a cost-of-living allowance (COLA) while working in a non-foreign area as a civilian employee of the United States or a federal entity between October 1, 1990 and September 30, 2000. Non-foreign areas include Alaska, Hawaii, Guam/CNMI, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

A settlement of the case was approved by the court and became final in 2000. Under the settlement, the Government has made significant changes in the way the COLA is calculated, including adoption of a "non-price" adjustment factor. Interim COLA rates were established pending implementation of these changes, with increases in several COLA areas. There are also important procedural changes in the administration of the program, including substantial ongoing employee involvement.

Certain class members were eligible for back pay, and all eligible class members who completed and returned the claim verification form within the time allowed under the settlement (which was extended by the trustee for the benefit of class members) have received 100% of their back pay based on calculations they individually approved. The deadline has passed, and therefore no further claims may be filed or awards issued for back pay.

The portion of the settlement fund representing amounts unclaimed (or checks uncashed) by eligible class members, after payment of certain ongoing expenses, will be allocated among those claimants who submitted valid claims and cashed their back pay checks. Due to the extraordinary success of the claims administrator in locating eligible class members, the amount available for supplemental distribution to eligible class members will be relatively modest (between 1% and 2% of the amount of the back pay checks, or less, depending on reserves needed for ongoing trust administration costs). In order to receive a supplemental check, eligible class members were required to file a complete Supplemental Claim form with the Settlement Administrator by December 21, 2005. This claim for the supplement payment was mailed to all eligible class members on November 21, 2005.

To see the Court-approved Notice describing the settlement process, providing a summary of the terms of the settlement, click the "Notice of Settlement" button to the left. To see the actual settlement agreement, click the "Stipulation for Settlement" button to the left. To see important dates concerning the settlement, click the "Important Dates" button to the left. To see answers to frequently asked questions, click the "Frequently Asked Questions" button to the left.