OWCP announces final rule updating procedures for Federal Workers’ Compensation Act claims
Filed under: Dept. of Labor, owcp, postal, postal news, press releases
Agency issues first major regulation updates since 1999
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs today released a final rule that revises and modernizes the procedures used in administering claims under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act. The rule, published in the June 28 Federal Register, modernizes those procedures to increase fairness and efficiency, updates the regulations to account for recent statutory changes and incorporates advances in technology that preserve administrative resources. Read more
OSHA proposes $287,000 in fines against USPS in Bluefield, W.Va.,for exposing workers to electrical hazards
Filed under: osha, postal, postal news, press releases, usps
US Labor Department Press release
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the U.S. Postal Service for workplace safety violations found at a mail processing facility located at 3010 East Cumberland Road in Bluefield. Proposed penalties total $287,000.
“These citations and sizable fines reflect the Postal Service’s failure to ensure that the proper safety practices were being used by employees working with live electrical parts, leaving them vulnerable to multiple hazards,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “The Postal Service knew that proper and effective training was needed for the safety of its workers but did not provide it.”
OSHA initiated an inspection in May in response to a complaint alleging the hazards. Inspectors cited the Postal Service with four willful violations carrying a penalty of $280,000 and one serious violation with a penalty of $7,000.
The willful violations cite the facility’s failure to label electrical cabinets, properly train employees, use safety-related work practices when exposed to energized electrical parts and provide proper electrical protective equipment. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.
The serious citation was issued for allowing an unauthorized employee to perform inspections. OSHA issues a serious citation when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard.
The Postal Service has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, meet with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. This inspection was conducted by OSHA’s Charleston Area Office in West Virginia, which can be reached at 304-347-5937. To report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).
The U.S. Department of Labor has filed an enterprise-wide complaint against the U.S. Postal Service for electrical safety violations. The complaint asks the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission to order the Postal Service to correct electrical violations at all its facilities nationwide. This complaint marks the first time OSHA has sought enterprise-wide relief as a remedy.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to assure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit: http://www.osha.gov.
OSHA Increases Enforcement Against Serious Safety and Health Violators
Filed under: Dept. of Labor, osha, postal, postal news, press releases, usps
From October 2009 to September 2010, OSHA issued citations in 164 significant cases where penalties reached $100,000 or more. OSHA found conditions warranting use of its egregious citation policy in 20 of these inspections. In a so-called egregious case, an employer is cited on a per-instance basis under the same standard rather than grouping similar violations for penalty purposes. The result is a considerably higher penalty intended to serve as a deterrent. Egregious treatment is often used when an employer exhibits deliberately violative conduct or indifference to employee safety and health or the law. Many of these cases spring from inspections of tragic worker fatalities, worksite catastrophes (such as explosions or chemical releases) or worker injuries or illnesses. This number of significant and egregious cases is more than OSHA issued during any similar period in the last decade. Egregious cases during this period include the BP Products North America oil refinery in Texas City, Texas; the Kleen Energy power plant in Middletown, Conn.; and the Cooperative Plus grain handling facility in Burlington, Wis.
The increase in significant and egregious cases demonstrates OSHA’s commitment to aggressively enforcing its standards when employers show indifference to protecting the safety, health and lives of their workers. The increase results from better inspection targeting, more follow-up inspections and the addition of more compliance officers. In addition, inspectors are issuing a higher percentage of citations for violations that seriously endanger workers or show an employer’s willful disregard for their safety. Also, many referrals to other facilities within the same company lead to more significant cases, such as the serious electrical and other hazards found at many U.S. Postal Service facilities across the country.
In a complaint filed earlier this year, OSHA alleged that “USPS’s actions demonstrate an enterprise-wide policy that resulted in ongoing systemic electrical work safety violations. USPS failed to adequately train workers in recognizing electrical hazards and how to work safely around such hazards, and did not provide workers with the appropriate tools and personal protective equipment to avoid injury or death while working around and on electrical equipment.”
“Even though it was aware of the hazards, USPS failed to institute the necessary measures to protect its workers,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels.
“Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to assure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance.”
OSHA rolls out presidential initiative to improve federal worker safety
The Department of Labor held an event at its Washington, D.C., headquarters Oct. 13 to roll out President Barack Obama’s new initiative to protect federal workers from on-the-job injuries and illnesses. The Protecting Our Workers and Ensuring Reemployment Initiative follows two former government programs in place since the mid 1990s. The new government-wide POWER Initiative sets aggressive target goals to help ensure federal workers are provided with safe and healthful work environments, as well as the support they need after experiencing a serious work-related injury or illness.
source: OSHA via several news releases
New York Postal Worker Gets Two Months For OWCP Fraud
Filed under: Dept. of Labor, legal cases, owcp, postal, postal news, press releases, usdoj
Press Release from the United States Attorney Northern District of New York
September 10, 2010
Richard S. Hartunian, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, announced today that JAMES IZYK, 49, of Oswego, New York was sentenced in federal court
today in Syracuse, N.Y. by U.S. District Court Judge Norman A. Mordue, to two months incarceration in connection with two felony convictions for defrauding the U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Department of Labor, and the Social Security Administration. Following his release from prison, IZYK was ordered to be placed on three years supervised release which will include 4 months of home confinement; pay restitution of $13,752 to the Social Security Administration and $20,132 to the United States Postal Service; and a pay a $200 special assessment.
On May 7, 2010, IZYK, a former Sales and Service Associate with the U.S. Post Office in Oswego, New York, pled guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. § 1920, admitting that he falsely represented that a work-related injury prevented him from performing any type of duties with the U.S. Postal Service. IZYK was capable of working, and knew he was under an obligation to report his true medical condition to the U.S. Postal Service. Based upon his false representations, IZYK received $33,884 in federal workers compensation and Social Security disability workers’ compensation benefits.
IZYK also pled guilty to a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, admitting that he falsely completed a written Social Security Administration Functional Capacity Evaluation and Continuing Disability Review Report, in connection with his receipt of Social Security Disability Benefits for his work-related disability. IZYK reported that since June 30, 2006, there had been no change in his physical condition and that his physical condition prevented him from, among other things: working, lifting objects over three pounds, doing yard work, and tying his shoes. Based upon those representations, IZYK remained eligible for disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. During the investigation federal agents observed and video-recorded IZYK landscaping his lawn, pushing a wheelbarrow weighing in excess of 225 pounds, building a flagstone retaining wall, lifting a lawn mower, and carrying objects weighing over 40 pounds.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General.
Further information regarding this case can be obtained by contacting Assistant United States Attorney Tamara Thomson at (315) 448-0672.
Injured Letter Carrier Fired For Failing To Report Income From Rock Band
Filed under: Injured On Duty, legal cases, letter carriers, NALC, postal
Illinois Letter Carrier fired for failing to report income earned playing bass guitar for a rock band called BANG!
Truhlar sued the Postal Service and NALC Branch.
TRUHLAR v. U.S. POSTAL SERVICE
KENNETH T. TRUHLAR, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
No. 09-1652.
United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.
Argued December 3, 2009.
Decided April 12, 2010.
Before EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge, and MANION and EVANS, Circuit Judges.
EVANS, Circuit Judge.
In 1998, Kenneth Truhlar was working as a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service in Westmont, Illinois, when a car rear-ended his mail truck, injuring his back and neck. Truhlar sought partial disability payments but failed to disclose in the disability compensation paperwork that he was earning money playing bass guitar for a rock band called BANG!. When the Postal Service discovered the omission, it launched an investigation to determine whether he had engaged in misconduct. It ultimately concluded that he had, and in 2005, Truhlar was fired. He sued the Postal Service and his local union, John Grace Branch #825 of the National Association of Letter Carriers, under § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 (LMRA), 29 U.S.C. § 185, claiming that the Service breached the collective bargaining agreement by firing him without just cause and that the union breached its duty of fair representation. Truhlar’s suit, which is a form of hybrid litigation, came to an end when the district court granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Truhlar appeals that decision.
Although the parties disagree over a number of (ultimately immaterial) details, the following facts are undisputed. In order to collect partial disability payments following his injury, Truhlar periodically submitted a Department of Labor (DOL) form called the CA-7, which includes the following question: “Have you worked outside your federal job during the period(s) [for which you are claiming disability]? (Include salaried, self-employed, commissioned, volunteer, etc.).” Truhlar responded “no” to this question or failed to answer it on 24 CA-7 forms he submitted between 2000 and 2001, despite the fact that he earned between $8,775 and $11,000 performing with BANG! during that period. After a Postal Service inspector videotaped Truhlar playing with the band, another inspector interviewed him about the discrepancy. Truhlar claimed he misunderstood the question on the form. In June 2001, the Postal Service notified Truhlar that he was being placed on off-duty status for “failure to provide correct earning information on your Form CA-7.” A local union steward filed a grievance on Truhlar’s behalf, and when the grievance was denied, union representative Eric Smith appealed in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement’s (CBA) three-step grievance procedure. Read more
USPS Refuses To Sever Ties With Contractor Debarred By DOL For Defrauding Its Workers
APWU News
USPS Subcontractor Defrauds Drivers of Wages, Benefits
Postal Management Refuses to Sever Ties with Company
Last month, newspapers reported a settlement [PDF] between the Department of Labor and a USPS subcontractor that exemplifies the problem with postal subcontracting: After three years of defrauding its workers of pay and benefits, the contractor, MT Transportation & Logistics Services, Inc. was ordered to pay employees $1.8 million in back wages, and was barred from entering into new federal contracts for three years.
The Department of Labor (DOL) found the contractor, a Long Island trucking company, guilty of withholding wages and benefits from more than 500 employees from December 2005 through December 2008. The company is under contract with the Postal Service to haul mail.
“This is an example of the improper and illegal practices that are often involved in postal subcontracting,” APWU Motor Vehicle Services Division Director Bob Pritchard said.
“APWU has protested USPS’ subcontracting practices for many years,” he said. “We have often pointed out that contractors’ bids are invalid. This settlement demonstrates one way subcontractors can afford to submit such low bids: They underpay their employees.”
USPS Refuses to Sever Ties
When the APWU learned of the violations, Northeast Regional Coordinator John Dirzius asked Area management if it planned to continue its current contracts with the company. In a Feb. 12 letter, the USPS said it did. “The fact that a contractor has been debarred does not mean that we have to terminate any existing contract,” a manager for the Area wrote [PDF].
“This is a shameful example of unethical and unlawful USPS contractors ripping off their employees,” Dirzius said. “Management’s response demonstrates the Postal Service’s complicity.”
Pritchard agreed. “The Postal Service does not seem to be interested in making sure their contractors conform to the law; they are only interested in eliminating jobs by contracting out work,” he said.
In his letter to postal management, Dirzius requested copies of all current contracts between the USPS and MT Transportation & Logistics Services, Inc in the Northeast Region. He is encouraging locals to monitor the expiration date of the contracts to ensure that the company is not awarded any new contracts for a three-year period. “The bottom line is that as a result of illegal and improper behavior by subcontractors, APWU members are being deprived of jobs,” he said.
Federal contract regulations require subcontractors to pay employees no less than the “prevailing wages” for the area in which they work. After a complaint was filed, the DOL found that the company and its officers had denied employees appropriate wages and fringe benefits, as mandated by the federal McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act.
“USPS subcontracting takes work away from postal employees and is inefficient,” Pritchard said. “The USPS claims to save money by awarding contracts to contractors, yet with skilled employees on site and postal equipment available, keeping the work in-house is much more efficient and practical.”
DOL Will Recover $1.8 Million In Back Wages From USPS Mail Hauling Contractor
Filed under: Dept. of Labor, mail delivery, postal, press releases
The company and its principal officers also will be debarred from receiving future government contracts for a three-year period.
BAY SHORE, N.Y. — The U.S. Department of Labor will recover more than $1.8 million in back wages for more than 500 employees of MT Transportation & Logistics Services Inc., a trucking company based in Bay Shore, under contract with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to haul mail. The company and its principal officers also will be debarred from receiving future government contracts for a three-year period.
USPS mail haul contracts are subject to the prevailing wage and fringe benefits provisions of the federal McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act. The McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act requires contractors and subcontractors performing on federal service contracts in excess of $2,500 to pay service employees no less than the wage rates and fringe benefits found prevailing in the locality for the classification of work that they perform. The department’s Wage and Hour Division cited the company and the company’s officers for failing to pay their service employees the legally required hourly rates and fringe benefits.
“The laws governing prevailing wages and benefits on federal contracts grant clear protections to workers, and the Labor Department will continue to ensure that companies awarded federal contracts are following the rules,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.
In an administrative complaint filed with the Labor Department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges (ALJ), the Wage and Hour Division named as respondents the company, Anthony Alvarez as president, Andrew Meyers as vice president-sales, Della Herzog as vice president-finance and Terri Chester as controller/general manager. The ALJ approved a consent findings and order to resolve the complainant when the respondents agreed to pay a total of $1,830,800 in back wages and interest for the period from Dec. 1, 2005, to Dec. 31, 2008. The judgment also orders the company and the principal officers to be debarred from future government contracts for three years and to establish a compliance program to ensure future compliance with wage and hour laws.