VA data breach may have affected more than 4,000 veterans
A Veterans Affairs Department data breach may have put at risk the personal information of more than 4,000 veterans, VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker said Wednesday.
That is nearly twice the number of potentially affected vets VA said last week were eligible for credit monitoring because of the breach.
The information, including Social Security numbers, was posted on Ancestry.com last March and not discovered by VA until December, eight months later, when the daughter of a living veteran complained that personal information about her parent had been posted on the website, Baker said. The information was immediately taken off the website last month. Read more
NAPS Letters to Groups regarding USPS Veterans Preference Policies
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POSTAL SUPERVISORS
January 5, 2012
Mr. Fang Wong
National Commander
American Legion
Post Office Box 1055
Indianapolis IN 46206
Dear Commander Fong,
National Headquarters
1727 KlNG STREET, SUlTE 400
ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314-2753
Phone (703) 836-9660
As an organization that represents the interests of our nation’s veterans, we would like to bring to your attention a serious matter that will undoubtedly impact the future employment of hundreds if not thousands of veterans who now work for the United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is one of the largest employers of veterans in the country. It is estimated that around 25% of the Postal Service’s 590,000 employees are veterans of our armed forces. Many of these veterans are employed at Postal Service mail processing facilities, which serve a vital role in sorting and preparing mail for delivery.
Our organization is fighting to stop the Postal Service plans to close over 250 of these mail processing facilities throughout the country due to the Postal Service’s current financial condition. Congress is debating several bills that could resolve the Postal Service’s financial crisis.
While the legislative debate continues, the Postal Service has plans for cost cutting that will impact thousands of postal employees, including large numbers of veterans and disabled veterans. Read more
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
NALC Video Ad: Letter Carrier veterans—Their service never ended
Neither should yours.
About one-quarter of letter carriers have served in the military. Your carrier might be one of them.
Of the 280,000 members of the National Association of Letter Carriers, about 70,000 are veterans of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines or Coast Guard, including recent service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This Veterans Day, the NALC recognizes these brave men and women for the vital service they have provided—and continue to provide as letter carriers.
“Six days a week,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said, “letter carriers help bind this vast country together while also unifying individual communities, serving the needs of small businesses that provide two-thirds of new jobs and helping residents keep in touch with loved ones.” Read more
Unions, Veterans Tell House Committee: Vote No on Issa-Ross Postal Bill
Filed under: APWU, politics, postal, postal news, usps, veterans
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The APWU has united with a prominent veterans’ organization and other postal unions to urge members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to vote no on H.R. 2309 when the committee deliberates on Oct. 13. [Click here for live Webcast - committee deliberations begin at 10:30 a.m.] Read more
Letter: Issa Postal Reform Bill Will Put Many Americans Out of Work Including Military Vets
Filed under: postal, postal news, postal reform, usps, veterans
Letter To Congressman Darrell Issa from postal employee Guy Nohrenberg
Rep. Darrell Issa
June 23, 2011
Money is being taken from the US Postal Service as a hidden additional Tax.
The wealthiest Congressman in History continues his terrorist attack on the US Postal Service through trying to add an additional government bill, “The Postal Reform Act of 2011″. What is it? It is another expensive government paid committee intended to destroy the nations largest civilian employer.
The US Postal Service is not being harmed by reduction of mail volume, fax, email, or any of that other elitist inspired propaganda. It can manage through mail fluctuations and always has. It’s being harmed by an additional hidden tax that this congressman and his ilk have imposed upon the US Postal Service. The US Postal Service is the employer of people you know, love and are related to. This Congressman has a strange fetish against the US Postal Service and he regularly bullies it in an effort to eliminate it.
So he wants more unemployment? His “Postal Reform Act of 2011″ will place over a million Americans out of work. Isn’t it bad enough that Post Offices in small towns are closing by the minute, against the desires of the local communities losing them and that you have to drive further just to mail packages and scented letters to loved ones overseas.
The US Postal Service employs a significantly high percentage of Military Veterans. Many are from his own district. This Congressman has continually assaulted the US Postal Service, with misinformation and propaganda. He’s even subversively trying to divert attention from the honest efforts underway to stop his hidden additional tax of $5.5 Billion Dollars each year.
read full letter to Rep. Darrell Issa
Michigan Postal worker surrenders allegations of stealing Vets drugs from mail
Flat Rock, Michigan
A former postal carrier voluntarily surrendered to police Friday morning on an arrest warrant for allegedly stealing prescription drug parcels from the mail.The carrier, 51, resigned from her job after an interview with agents in May, according to Scott Pierce, deputy special agent in charge of the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General.Flat Rock police notified postal authorities after several customers complained of undelivered prescription medication that was expected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.Postal authorities immediately began an investigation, according to Pierce. The woman provided a written and verbal confession to the investigators, he said.“She claimed to be experiencing specific health problems that required more pain medication than she was legally prescribed,” Pierce said.
full story from the News Herald
USPS Settles Class Action Discrimination Lawsuit Filed For Disabled Veterans
According to Hill vs Potter : Clarence Hill filed a class complaint alleging that the Postal Service discriminated against him and all disabled veteran applicants by making improper pre-employment medical inquiries. On February 18, 2011, Judge Davi named Corey Baskerville, Zedrick Jenkins,and Frank Vander Haar as additional Class Agents. Clarence Hill has not agreed to the settlement as yet. His objections to the settlement agreement will be the subject of a separate post. Read more
Guffey Encourages Postal Veterans To Spread the Word About New Job Opportunities
APWU Web News Article 066-2011, June 1, 2011
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APWU President Cliff Guffey is encouraging postal workers who have served in the armed forces to reach out to fellow veterans and encourage them to take advantage of new hiring opportunities.
“The APWU negotiated a Collective Bargaining Agreement that will create thousands of new employment opportunities for veterans, and we need your help to ensure veterans are hired,” Guffey said in a May 27 letter. [PDF]
In many instances, the Postal Service is obligated to hire veterans before civilians, provided they are on the appropriate hiring register, Guffey said. Veterans should be educated about the benefits of being a postal employee and encouraged to take the necessary tests to be considered for employment.
“We want to make sure that veterans across the nation are on the list when hiring begins,” he said.
Along with the letter, the union included a short tutorial that explains how veterans can conduct job searches and apply for new positions.
“We are proud to be able to offer employment opportunities to the thousands of men and women who serve our country in these tough economic times,” Guffey said. “I ask all members to reach out to veterans who are looking for work.
source: APWU
Employers Can Be Held Liable For Discriminating Against Employees Using Military Leave
Recently PostalReporter posted information about Richard Erickson, a distribution Clerk fired from his position at Fort Myers Processing and Distribution Center (Fort Myers, Florida). Erickson filed an MSPB appeal under Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), asserting that he was improperly removed because of his military service and requesting that he be reinstated. The case was recentlyt sent back to MSPB to determine if the the Postal Service discriminated against Erickson because of his military leave.
Here is information on a recent Supreme Court decision which held employers who discriminate against veterans can be held liable:
The Supreme Court has issued a significant ruling in favor of employees who are issued discipline based on the reported misconduct of the employee by a supervisor who is motivated by unlawful animus. This routinely comes up when a supervisor retaliates against an employee by recommending discipline to another official, who then acts on the reported misconduct.
The Postal Service typically tries to avoid liability in such cases by asserting the officials who decided to issue discipline had no discriminatory or retaliatory animus. This will no longer be an absolute defense to claims of discrimination and retaliation and the Supreme Court shifted the burden of proof to the employer to prove such a defense.
In STAUB v. PROCTOR HOSPITAL, the Supreme Court decided that held if a supervisor performs an act motivated by antimilitary animus that is intended by the supervisor to cause an adverse employment action, and if that act is a proximate cause of the ultimate employment action, then the employer is liable under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.
In Staub, the supervisor was upset that the employees frequent leave for military service disrupted the schedule. The supervisor complained and new work rules were adopted for the employee. Ultimately, the employee violated the new rules, and he was removed by upper management. Even though the person who acted on the report of rule violation was purportedly ignorant of the supervisor’s military animus, the employer is still deemed to have retaliated against the employee for his military service.
The opinion is short and succinct and can be viewed at Cornell University Law School
Glenn L. Smith, www.uspostallawyer.com