Well, trickle down economics may or may not work, but trickle down violating people's rights apparently does. Bush has spent his time in the White House pissing on the Constitution, federal law and federal regulations, taking the position that he can do as he pleases. Now, another government agency is following his example.

The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) have filed a joint lawsuit against the Postal Service and the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) seeking to stop OIG agents from obtaining confidential medical information about employees without their knowledge or consent. The suit was filed January 17 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Attorneys for the two unions say "this is a case of unwarranted intrusion by government agencies into the privacy of their employees' medical information, an intrusion that exceeds the agencies' statutory authority and violates federal law, regulations and the United States Constitution".

The controversy came to light when the NALC obtained a copy of a standard form letter used by the OIG when demanding that physicians and other health care providers disclose sensitive information, and expressly advises the physician not to inform the patient - the affected employee - of the disclosure. The NALC via letter to the USPS Board of Governors demanded that the practice cease, and received a letter of reply denying the request to stop.

In my 23 years with the postal service I have seen a lot of bogus stuff being tried by management, but this takes the cake. An appeals court judge this last week told the Bush administration that the law requiring a 12 mile sonar free zone on the California coast applies to him and the Navy, and the administration replied, "No, it doesn't". The Postal Board of Governors are told that there are laws regarding doctor-patient privilege and confidentiality and those laws apply to them as well, and they replied "No, they don't".

It may well take an entire generation to erase this stain on our democracy and freedoms from the Bush regime, and get back to respect for the rule of law and the Constitution.


Edit: removed the link since it was not working right.

I'd say unbelievable, but nothing surprises me anymore with agencies wiping their ass with the Constitution and civil liberties.

*sigh*

Hey, if the President can ignore the Constitution, why not everybody else?

Hey, if the President can ignore the Constitution, why not everybody else?

DUH....because he's the decider....get with it man!!!

When did the letter/practice go into effect and why?

The NALC obtained a copy of the form letter used by the OIG in September 2007. Investigation of the letters use revealed numerous instances of the OIG using the letter as a part of pressure tactics to get physicians and health care workers to cooperate, disregarding the doctor-patient relationship.

The OIG claims to be investigating "alleged employee misconduct". That is the sole rationale given.

As to the overall why, Bush ordered all federal agencies to trim costs several years back, authorizing the use of the Office of Inspector General where applicable. Naturally, the first place they look for waste is at the bottom of the totem pole, meaning the workers doing the actual function of the agency.

While there are definitely those workers in all agencies, including the Postal Service, that could use a firm foot in the rear to get some decent productivity out of them, too much of the OIG's efforts have been more along the harrassment line. And they continuously mess up the cases they try to prosecute with shoddy paperwork, at least where postal folks have been involved.

My postmaster shared a case this morning, from some time back:

A letter carrier was sitting in his truck in an alley, next to a business. It was one of his assigned break points, and was noted in his route book. (All carriers have to have two break locations in addition to lunch location; two ten minute breaks during the day which are not to be combined with thirty minute lunch)
So, the letter carrier was reading his morning paper, when he was approached by an OIG agent. The agent showed his identification, and asked what the carrier was doing, upon which the carrier said he was taking his assigned break at the assigned location, per his route book. The agent pointed to a nearby dumpster, and asked if the carrier had put any mail in it, and was told no, of course not. The agent ordered the carrier to leave his truck, open the dumpster, and show the agent what was in the dumpster. The carrier refused, saying it was not his dumpster, nor was that a part of his job description, nor would he leave his truck. The agent placed him under arrest, handcuffed him, and removed him from his route.

The carrier successfully sued the agent, and those kinds of tactics are no longer tolerated. But, we continue to have to fight these silly battles that do little more than interfere with our productivity.

So the OIG is investigating whistleblower reports of employees abusing disability leave/workers' compensation claims?

Wish they had agents investigating other things like government medical insurance fraud; IE the person who has government medical insurance and is wheeled out to their brand new mercedes upon discharge. They really should give these agents something more productive to do. *sigh*

So the OIG is investigating whistleblower reports of employees abusing disability leave/workers' compensation claims?

I am not sure if that is the case or not, but it is irrelevant.