USPS Accused Of Failing To Protect Employees From Extreme Weather Conditions

Some postal workers aren't aware that there are protective measures in place.

After a Texas-based U.S. Postal Service mail carrier died from heat exposure in June 2023, other employees are speaking up about how the federal agency is failing to protect them from weather conditions, according to a report in Politico.

Eugene Gates was delivering mail in Dallas when he collapsed in someone’s front yard in June 2023. It was a record 104 degrees when the homeowner rushed to perform CPR but failed to revive Gates. His death sent shockwaves through the country as multiple employees accused USPS of ignoring its heat safety programs and falsified records to hide how its actions may have caused the death of mail carriers across the country.

Through the Heat Illness Prevention Program (HIPP), the agency must train letter carriers every spring to recognize symptoms of heat illness and what should be done if they feel ill. The USPS website lists numerous cases of what to do if a mail carrier gets sick due to heat. However, according to Gates’ widow and the National Association of Letter Carriers union, the 66-year-old never received that training and his manager allegedly “falsified” official records before his death in order to hide it.

His case started a domino effect of investigations.

Close to 10 states, including New Jersey, Utah, and Illinois, have had cases where USPS has been accused of falsifying records, Politico reports. In Chicago, the union alleges managers “have falsified records of over 2,000 couriers,” described by the carriers as “an epidemic of policy violations at a time when global temperatures are soaring.”

“There are a significant number of locations where the training was not done, and there is a significant amount of discrepancy between what the Postal Service records show did or did not happen,” Brian Renfroe, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers told E&E News per Politico.

USPS claims it does exactly what’s needed to protect its carriers. “The safety of our employees is a top priority, and the Postal Service has implemented a national Heat Illness Prevention Program for all employees,” USPS spokesperson Darlene Casey said. “The Postal Service requires annual completion of a training course on heat stress by all employees in every facility.”

According to the Texas Observer, a survey was sent to mail carriers in the Dallas area, asking if they were familiar with HIPP. Four out of 19 carriers responded with “no.” While the training was set to go into effect between April 1 and October 31, 14 survey respondents claim they still had not received HIPP training as of August 11.

Since the death of Gates, a 35-year veteran, both mail carriers and union reps say nothing has changed from USPS management, which continues to make mail carriers work overtime and take extra routes to deliver mail faster, which continues to add to heat illnesses and other injuries.

As of October 2023, 65% of USPS vehicle nationwide have a small fan but not air-conditioning.