Postal Employees Say Big Brother Is Watching Them

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/01/24/postal-employees-say-big-brother-is-watching-them/

by Mike Hall, Jan 24, 2008

Most of us believe our medical records are a private matter between us and our health care providers. But postal employees learned recently the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has been snooping into their medical records, according to a suit filed by the Postal Workers (APWU) and Letter Carriers (NALC).


The unions filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Jan. 17. They say that beginning in 2006, the postal service’s OIG began surreptitiously seeking and obtaining the medical records of postal workers directly from doctors and hospitals that had provided medical services to postal employees.

The suit alleges that the OIG has routinely instructed medical providers that they must submit records to the OIG and they should refrain from notifying affected employees that the records have been requested by the OIG. It says the snooping continues and the OIG claims it has a right to review the records as part of oversight or investigatory activities.

The unions are asking the court to declare the practice illegal and issue an injunction against the OIG and the USPS. As APWU President William Burrus says:

I am outraged that OIG would use the tactics of a police state to investigate workers compensation or sick-leave cases. The OIG has no legitimate business investigating routine personnel matters. The use of these methods demands the strongest possible response.


FULL story at link.