Federal Manager's Daily Report

A USPS district where turnover is especially high also suffers from incomplete background checks that left “an increased risk to mail security, customers, employees, assets and upholding the public trust,” the postal IG has reported.

The office examined the Los Angeles district, which has a turnover rate among non-career employees of 53 percent annually, well above the national goal for such positions of 35 percent.

The screening process for such positions involves initial checks by a contractor of criminal record and motor vehicle records–where certain issues may be an automatic disqualifier. Those not weeded out at that stage are subject to more thorough background checks by OPM.

However, in a sample of 183 applicants, officials could not provide the pre-employment files for 101, “and many of those that were received were incomplete,” the IG said. Of the 33 hired, 11 had automatic disqualifying driving eligibility factors and seven had potentially disqualifying criminal suitability factors “without any documented justification as to why the hire was still appropriate.”

“These conditions occurred due to underlying pressure to meet operational demands coupled with high turnover rates and high applicant volume in the district. Another contributing factor was temporary use of other employees in the hiring process without adequate training, formal documented process guidance, enhanced oversight, or quality reviews,” said the report.