Two Kentucky Mail Carriers Admit Stealing Prescriptions Mailed To Veterans
Filed under: postal, postal news, press releases, usps, veterans
FRANKFORT — The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General jointly announced today that two U.S. mail carriers have admitted to stealing mail packages containing prescription pills.
Pamela J. Hawkins, 40, pleaded guilty today to theft of mail matter and in a separate case, James Carter, 40, pleaded guilty to the same charge yesterday.
Hawkins admitted that she took 10 to 11 drug parcels, over the past year and a half, that were intended for veterans living in Lawrenceburg, Ky. The parcels contained hydrocodone pills.
Carter admitted that while working for the Lexington Processing and Distribution Center, he stole up to 60 drug shipments, consisting primarily of hydrocodone, that were intended for veterans living in Lexington, Georgetown, Louisville, Morehead, Nicholasville, Danville, London, Corbin, Pikeville, and Manchester among other cities in Kentucky.
According to Carter’s plea agreement, on February 11, 2009, investigators conducted surveillance on Carter while he was working and approached him as he was about to leave work for the day. They found drugs in his pockets, sock and vehicle.
The investigation into both cases started after the Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General received complaints from individuals who weren’t receiving the drug parcels mailed to them by the Department of Veterans Affairs. There is no evidence in either case that the defendants were distributing the pills.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney David A. Marye represented the U.S. Attorney’s Office in this case.
Hawkins will appear for sentencing in Frankfort on March 13 and Carter will appear in Lexington for his sentencing on March 1. If convicted, both defendants face a maximum prison sentence of five years. However, any sentence following a conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the United States Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of sentences.
source: The United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Kentucky
OIG Report On USPS Health and Safety Program
OIG found in some locations that safety was not always a priority to management
Highlights of the USPS OIG audit:
Previously, the Postal Service, as a federal agency, was exempt from private sector provisions of the OSH Act. When PESEA became effective, the Postal Service became fully subject to the OSH Act. This gave OSHA jurisdiction over the Postal Service in matters relating to employee safety and health and required the Postal Service to comply with OSHA standards and regulations. If violations occur, OSHA may cite or fine the Postal Service or, in extreme cases, refer the agency for criminal prosecution. Read more
Edmond Walker vs USPS EEO Class Survey
This survey was sent via Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation to about 26,000 potentially eligible postal employees nationwide. It’s due back December 15th.
A little background on the case:
Edmond Walker, a Temporary Rural Carrier Relief, filed a class complaint alleging that discriminatory acts had been continuing for a class of disabled permanent rehabilitation employees in the Postal Service. The EEOC Administrative Judge certified the class. note: The Walker case is sort of a spinoff of the Glover/Albrecht EEO class action.
Edmond C. Walker, the class agent in the Walker class action, filed a complaint on August 19, 2002. Walker alleged that, since April 2000, the Postal Service discriminated against individuals with disabilities by:
1. Placing disabled individuals in permanent rehabilitation positions without engaging in the interactive process as required by law;
2. Restricting disabled individuals who are placed in permanent rehabilitation [sic] to limited work hours without any medical justification and without consulting the individual with a disability;
3. Fail[ing] to allow individuals with a disability, who have been placed in permanent rehabilitation positions, to work the number of hours determined appropriate by the individual and his/her physician and which are available; and
4. Fail[ing] to allow individuals with a disability, who have been placed in permanent rehabilitation positions, to use assistive devices in the workplace to accommodate their disabilities, including but not limited to, electric scooters, notwithstanding that said assistive devices pose no threat to safety or inconvenient [sic] in the workplace.
This claim has been analyzed to include denial of overtime.
Edmond Walker EEO Class Survey (PDF)
MSPB to Hear Oral Arguments in NRP Appeals On December 13th
Filed under: mspb, nrp, postal, postal news, press releases, usps
On Tuesday, December 13, 2011, MSPB will hear oral arguments in the matters of James C. Latham v. U.S. Postal Service, MSPB Docket Number DA-0353-10-0408-I-1; Ruby N. Turner v. U.S. Postal Service, MSPB Docket Number SF-0353-10-0329-I-1; Arleather Reaves v. U.S. Postal Service, MSPB Docket Number CH-0353-10-0823-I-1; Cynthia E. Lundy v. U.S. Postal Service, MSPB Docket Number AT-0353-11-0369-I-1; and Marcella Albright v. U.S. Postal Service, MSPB Docket Number DC-0752-11-0196-I-1 (Latham et al.). The proceedings will take place at 10:00 a.m. at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Room 201, 717 Madison Place, N.W., Washington, D.C. See 76 FR 73691, November 29, 2011.
Latham et al. raise the following legal issues: (1) May a denial of restoration be “arbitrary and capricious” within the meaning of 5 C.F.R. § 353.304(c) solely for being in violation of the U.S. Postal Service’s own internal rules; and (2) what is the extent of the agency’s restoration obligation under its own internal rules, i.e., under what circumstances do the agency’s rules require it to offer a given task to a given partially recovered employee as modified work? The Board requested and received an advisory opinion from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in this matter. See 5 U.S.C. § 1204(e)(1)(A). The Board also invited and received amicus curiae briefs. See 76 FR 44373, July 25, 2011.
The parties and the two amici curiae who asked to participate in oral argument will be allotted time to present oral argument in this matter. The briefs submitted by the parties and the amici curiae, as well as OPM’s advisory opinion, are available for viewing on MSPB’s website at http://www.mspb.gov/oralarguments/. The MSPB will also make a recording of the oral argument available on its website. The public is welcome to attend this hearing for the sole purpose of observation. Persons with disabilities who require reasonable accommodation to participate in this event should direct the request to the MSPB Director of Equal Employment Opportunity at (202) 254-4405 and V/TDD users should call via relay. All requests should be made at least one week in advance.
This is the third time that MSPB has conducted an oral argument in the past 15 months after not hearing oral arguments for over 20 years. The MSPB continues to utilize oral argument in appeals like Latham et al. that present issues of special significance because of their broad potential impact on the Federal civil service and merit systems.
The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is an independent, quasi‐judicial agency that protects Federal merit systems and the rights of individuals within those systems. The MSPB also conducts studies of the civil service and other merit systems in the Executive Branch.
source: Merit System Protection Board
Post Office Facilities Group Fighting USPS Real Estate Program Delegating Lease Renewals To Contractor
AUSPL Advises Lessors NOT to Pay CB Richard Ellis Group Commission Fees for Leases on Post Offices
By now, most AUSPL lessors have received a “Dear Landlord” letter in which the Postal Service introduced its real estate program delegating lease negotiations to CB Richard Ellis (CBRE). We are vigorously challenging this program because we believe it unfairly targets lessors and favors CBRE.
Many members are concerned about being forced to deal with CBRE because it subjects our members to negotiating with less qualified, third party contractors who have no prior experience with the property with the expectation we pay the real estate commission.
What’s more, postal buildings are unique. Nearly all postal buildings were constructed according to standard plan documents developed by USPS. The facilities include specialty equipment, materials, specialized interior space and configuration, accessibility and security features that would be difficult and very costly to duplicate in a generic commercial facility. Without understanding that, CBRE agents may well recommend the Postal Service relocate to lower priced, alternate quarters, which would be detrimental to our lessors and USPS.
At AUSPL, we believe lessors should NOT enter into an agreement to pay CBRE a commission. While the “Dear Landlord” letter obligates lessors to negotiate with CBRE, it does NOT obligate them to pay a commission. Indeed, the “Dear Landlord” notification is an “agency notice,” which requires lessors to negotiate with CBRE. However, a USPS real estate contracting officer must ratify and sign any lease renewal; CBRE is not authorized to sign any (new) lease or lease renewal agreement. Do not be bullied or pressured by a CBRE agent. If an agent CBRE “threatens” to withhold recommendation of the negotiated lease terms to the Postal Service real estate contracting officer, contact us immediately. Call 800-572-9483 or E-mail auspl@auspl.com. We will continue to fight this program and we keep you posted. Stay tuned.
source: Association of United States Postal Lessors
USPS Begins FY 2012 With Net Loss of $139 Million
The US Postal Service filed its first month preliminary financial report of the 2012 fiscal year (unaudited) with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) . USPS reported a net operating loss of $139 million for the month of October 2011. This same period last year saw a $283 million net profit. USPS reported a drop of volume in all classes of mail except shipping which rose 34.6% during the month of October. Most all non-personnel expenses such as Vehicle Maintenance Service, Information Technology, Rural Carrier EMA, supplies and services saw an increase.
USPS Preliminary Financial Information (Unaudited )
USPS Financial History Summary 2007-2011
Below is a summary of USPS’ Financial History from 2007-2011. The summary shows that USPS net financial losses started after the “Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act” (PAEA) was passed into law on December 20, 2006. The PAEA required USPS to pre-fund its Retiree Health Benefit Fund for current and future employees. According to USPS, “ we have incurred expenses for retiree health benefits of $5.5 billion, $1.4 billion, and $5.6 billion in 2010, 2009, and 2008, respectively, for the legally-mandated pre-funding payments to the PSRHBF at each year-end. Without the impact of these charges, the net loss would have been $505 million in 2010 and $1,051 million [billion] in 2009. In 2008 the net income would have been $3,211 million.[billion] ”
USPS Financial History Summary
Prior to 2007 USPS Financial Data show Net Profits from 2004-2006
| 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | |
| Operating Revenue | $72,650 | $69,907 | $68,996 |
| Incomefrom Operations | $969 | $1,626 | $3,145 |
| Net Income | $ 900 | $ 1,445 | $3,065 |
Video: Residents in Lissie, Texas May Start ‘Occupy’ group to save Post Office
Filed under: post office closings, postal, postal news, usps, videos
Lissie, Texas, is a cluster of ranch-style homes lined with tractors, one church, and a post office. Just 200 people live there. Joyce Hodde is one. She says the post office is much more than just a place to buy stamps. “This is kind of a community center for us,” Hodde said. “We get our mail, talk to our friends and go home.” It’s also where residents pay bills and pick up retirement checks. “I enjoyed the post office mostly because I got to see all the people every day,” said Janie Crane, who was Lissie’s postmaster for 27 years. “I was used to talking to everybody, listening to their problems and helping them out when they could.” A month ago Crane received a notice that her post office might close. The Postal Service says its network of rural post offices was established decades ago and is no longer needed. People in Lissie disagree. More Than a Post Office- KUT Austin Read more
USPS San Francisco District Posts over 130 NTFT Bids On Thanksgiving Day
A new provision of the 2010-2015 contract between USPS and APWU allows positions to be converted into “non-traditional full time” (NTFT, pronounced “nifty”) assignments consisting of less than 40 hours.
From an APWU steward:
USPS San Francisco District Postal Management “reconfigures traditional full-time bid assignments to NTFT bid assignments in response to the loss of workload/financials of the Postal Service.’ Automation (tours 1&3), box section, station/branch clerks to bear the sacrifices with new workload of 30 to 36 hours.
Some examples of the assignments posted for bidding:
Can Letter Carriers deliver mail in the dark?
Filed under: letter carriers, mail delivery, NALC, postal, postal news
From NALC Branch #1100 in California
Well winter is here and it is getting dark early. Which means you could be expected to work in the dark. This causes issues every year. The rule to keep in mind is that if it is safe you are to deliver the mail. So what is safe? Safe depends on you and your route.
Arbitrator’s have ruled that darkness in and of itself is not unsafe. Darkness can contribute to an unsafe situation. For example you are on a walking route, it is not well lighted, you trip over a crack in the side walk and a few feet later you stumble over something else. You may want to declare that swing as unsafe and move to the next swing. As you deliver on the next swing the same rule applies. If it is well lighted then deliver the mail. If you stumble due to poor lighting then stop. Move to the next swing.
There are several things you can do to keep safe while delivering when it is dark. If you are on a walking route and it is not well lighted then you don’t cut lawns. You want to walk where it is safest. This is normally the driveway and sidewalk. If the area is not well lighted then you probably can not finger the mail while walking since you may not be able to see the addresses well enough. Additionally if it is not well lighted you cannot see where you are walking with your peripheral vision so you actually need to watch where you walk.
With FSS everyone is delivering in the dark and too many hours. Everyone needs to case in the dog warning cards. It becomes more difficult to tell where the barking dog is when it is dark. If you choose to bring back the mail let your manager know. At some point it is unsafe to be out late, it may be unsafe to be on someone’s porch at 8 or 9 pm. Remember with the exception of the month of December, Letter Carriers cannot be required to work in excess of 12 hours per day. Regardless of the month, Letter Carriers cannot be required to work in excess of 60 hours per week. You are the only one that can keep yourself safe. This article is not to supersede any past practices in your city nor any local agreements. Several of our cities have agreements regarding delivery cutoffs.
See full article from NALC Branch #1100 -California