OIG: USPS Can Improve Oversight, Screening of Contractors and Brokers

The Postal Service should improve its screening and handling of contractors, subcontractors and the freight auction board, according to an agency watchdog. 

A Feb. 27 audit from the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) laid out these concerns, with investigators finding that “the Postal Service’s highway trucking contract safety controls, contract compliance and screening oversight were not always effective.” 

The first issue is that USPS previously did not track contractor accidents nor fatalities. Although the report notes that the agency has asked contractors to self-report as of March 2023, that policy is not in written form. 

While the Postal Service has said it has an existing system that could be used for storing accident data, the OIG said policies for that system are not recorded as of November 2023. 

Thus, the watchdog’s first recommendation is that the Postal Service finalize its data collection methods and properly establish related policies and procedures; USPS agreed with this finding. 

Secondly, the OIG observed a lack of requirements and rule enforcement from USPS when dealing with both contractors and freight auction users. The Postal Service did not require brokers to get approval for using a subcontractor, with the agency putting the onus on the brokers to be sure the subcontractor is compliant. 

The same issue was found for HCR contractors who use a subcontractor. While not currently required for brokers, HCR carriers must get approval to use a subcontractor, but most officials interviewed for the audit were unaware of this. 

So, the OIG recommended the Postal Service improve and implement better subcontracting policies for both groups. USPS management disagreed with these recommendations, saying the onus is on brokers to maintain “subcontractor records, so the Postal Service stated it sees no benefit in maintaining duplicative records.” 

Lastly, OIG investigators found a lack of screening for drivers. 

“Specifically, of the 250 HCR drivers’ security clearance records sampled, about 23 percent had not obtained a security clearance; 4 percent had a ‘pending’ security clearance status; [and] about 2 percent had an ‘access rescinded’ status,” according to the report. 

The same issue was found with freight auction users where drivers were not always vetted before being allowed to carry mail.  

The OIG recommended this be rectified by implementing driver-vetting requirements. USPS disagreed with the recommendation, saying it’s up to each company to keep their own records and vet drivers, not them. 

In the report’s conclusion, the OIG stated it will pursue the recommendations USPS disagreed with through the audit resolution process. 

The report, which stems from a March 2023 letter sent to Inspector General Tammy Whitcomb Hull by Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), studied data from October 2018 to December 2022.