A big variety of unbiased contractors who ship and gather mail for the U.S. Postal Service lack safety clearances, have interaction in unsafe driving practices or don’t possess required English expertise, threatening mail integrity, public security, funds and the model’s repute, in line with an audit by the group’s inspector common.
The Postal Service contracts with people or firms, who provide their very own automobiles, to offer mail service for properties and companies, primarily in rural and underserved areas. In fiscal 12 months 2025, the Postal Service had greater than 8,273 lively supply service contracts, which value about $593 million. The outsourcing program was established as an economical strategy to lengthen the Postal Service’s attain with out sunk prices for automobiles and personnel.
Why It Issues: The Workplace of Inspector Common stated in a report this week that native and headquarters administration of the contractor program must be improved, noting that inconsistent safety screening and badging created dangers for unauthorized entry to Postal Service services, whereas poor processes for motorcar accident reporting and inadequate analysis of English proficiency compromised security and mail safety. Sloppy administration additionally resulted in pointless spending as a result of some native directors made additional journey funds totaling $1.9 million utilizing the wrong price, primarily resulting from insufficient coaching and inconsistent steering.
Latest oversight failures have led to important mail safety breaches involving contract mail carriers. In 2024, for instance, a vendor who had not accomplished a compulsory background verify, discarded deliverable mail in a dumpster. And a number of outsourced carriers took mail to their residences to sift by means of and destroy reasonably than finishing their assigned routes
Safety breakdowns
The Inspector Common discovered widespread gaps in safety throughout website visits. Solely 35% of 69 exterior mail carriers interviewed possessed a sound badge, which signifies that they had handed a background verify. In 14 instances, badges had expired way back to 2021. Thirty-one individuals didn’t possess a badge. Greater than 60% of the pattern dimension had not been issued an digital barcode, suggesting that they had not handed or accomplished a background verify.
Publish workplace directors didn’t guarantee provider compliance with the badge necessities as a result of a big majority of them didn’t perceive or comply with the required safety screening course of, in line with the report. One administrator advised investigators he granted exceptions to a number of contract mail carriers to work with out accredited clearances as a result of that they had not been in america lengthy sufficient to go their safety clearance.
Moreover, there isn’t a system or controls in place to inform native officers when clearances and badges are approaching expiration, or had expired. Lacking or expired badges hinder administration’s capability to confirm if somebody is permitted to entry Postal Service operational areas or permitted to ship mail, the inspector common stated.
Irregular badge use throughout a number of workplaces additionally undermined the accuracy of route-level efficiency checks. Knowledge confirmed almost 3,800 cases the place a single contractor’s badge was used to scan mail on two or extra supply routes on the identical day, suggesting that badges have been shared. Proprietor-operators are supposed to make use of their very own badge to scan solely the mail assigned to their particular route.
Badge sharing violations even prolonged to Postal Service staff who logged into scanners utilized by distributors, leading to 1.5 million items of mail scanned utilizing unauthorized credentials. Worse, extra 416,000 of these scans have been accomplished utilizing badges not tied to the native facility and even the area, indicating broader management deficiencies, the report stated.
Compared to the overall quantity — the USPS processes and delivers 361 million items per day — the affected mail is small.
Auditors known as on the USPS to verify native directors confirm all unbiased drivers have lively safety clearances and legitimate badges and terminate entry to Postal Service services for contract mail carriers who have been denied a safety clearance. And the pinnacle of supply operations ought to set up an automatic course of to inform put up workplace managers when a provider’s badge is approaching expiration and immediate administrative officers to both submit a renewal bundle for badge continuation or confirm the badge is collected and returned after expiration.
Inadequate English-language proficiency
Language boundaries additionally pose security dangers. Investigators discovered that some suppliers couldn’t communicate English effectively sufficient to routinely reply to inquiries from Postal Service personnel and prospects regardless of contract necessities. At two of 10 websites, some mail carriers couldn’t reply easy questions akin to: Do you will have a present badge? What sort of auto do you will have?
“Past common miscommunication, restricted English proficiency can impede a service’s capability to interpret site visitors indicators, navigate addresses, course of official paperwork, deal with emergencies, and successfully talk with legislation enforcement or prospects. When the Postal Service doesn’t implement ample security and safety measures, the danger of auto accidents, worker accidents, and misplaced, broken, or stolen mail will increase considerably,” the inspector common acknowledged.
The power of drivers within the trucking trade to talk and perceive English has turn into a prime security precedence of the Trump administration. The Division of Transportation says greater than 26,000 industrial drivers have already been positioned out of service for failing English-language proficiency for the reason that administration reinstated strict enforcement. The Federal Motor Provider Security Administration is now proposing to codify pointers requiring that truck drivers who can not sufficiently learn or communicate English, or perceive freeway site visitors indicators and indicators, be compelled to cease working till they will reveal proficiency.
U.S. lawmakers have additionally debated whether or not drivers taking part in rideshare functions that obtain federal authorities contracts needs to be required to be proficient in English.
Higher administration ought to direct put up workplace directors to evaluate contract carriers’ capability to know and communicate English in the course of the preliminary screening course of, the audit really helpful. Lively carriers suspected of missing required English proficiency needs to be reevaluated and any people who fail to satisfy the usual ought to have their contract terminated.
In response, the USPS stated it can ship a memorandum to all native directors by July 31, 2027,reiterating the usual for fundamental English competency as described within the contract.
Driver deficiencies
Investigators stated in addition they found questions of safety related to the driving practices of some owner-operators.
Website visits uncovered automobiles with modifications, akin to a brake and fuel pedal put in on the entrance passenger facet of the car and a contract service unsafely delivering the mail whereas seated on the middle console. The Postal Service doesn’t require mail carriers to take a seat straight behind the steering wheel or use a seat belt whereas delivering mail on rural routes, however these driving practices “might doubtlessly endanger Postal Service personnel, contract mail carriers, and the general public, whereas additionally exposing the Postal Service to reputational danger,” the report stated.
Compounding that concern is the shortage of monitoring for motorcar accidents involving contract mail carriers. In 2024, the Postal Service initiated measures to watch contractor accidents and fatality knowledge, however these procedures solely apply to bigger trucking firms. In Might, administration issued a memo to all last-mile contractors outlining obligatory accident reporting necessities.
The USPS disagreed that car modifications are unsafe. Administration acknowledged there isn’t a knowledge to substantiate the implication that car modifications talked about have any bearing on accident charges or worker security. Moreover, administration acknowledged that Postal Service coverage permits for right-hand conversion and offers steering on using seat belts.
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Write to Editor at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
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