Some facility managers do not always want to escalate alleged threats to district Threat Assessment Teams because, when able, they wanted to resolve the threats locally. Image: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffMore than 2,600 threats and other types of workplace violence were reported to a USPS tracking system over fiscal 2022-2024 but those numbers are low because many such incidents are not entered into the system, an inspector general report says.
Of the total, nearly half were threats, defined as words or actions intended to intimidate another person or interfere with the performance of his or her official duties. Another quarter were physical assaults, with actions creating a hostile work environment accounting for most of the rest.
The IG said that overall, the Workplace Violence Prevention Program “was sufficient” and auditors “did not find any issues with the content or available resources for the program . . . District Threat Assessment Teams, facility managers, and employees generally agreed the strategies were working and are effective.”
It also noted that in the 2024 Postal Pulse survey, 76 percent of employees said they were comfortable reporting safety issues while at work, and 67 percent felt safety was a priority and issues were addressed when reported.
However, the IG also found that district threat assessment teams “did not always assess or report potential threats in the system that they gleaned from Postal Inspection Service Assault Threat Specialty Reports. Furthermore, facility managers inconsistently reported threats to the district teams.”
Some facility managers told the IG that they do not report alleged threats to the district team unless the incident includes physical altercations, while others said they made subjective decisions on reporting threats because guidance does not specify which kinds of threats they should report.
“Additionally, some facility managers did not always want to escalate alleged threats to district Threat Assessment Teams because, when able, they wanted to resolve the threats locally. For example, some experienced facility managers believed they should not escalate or report threats to the team unless an employee requests it, the behavior persists, or a physical threat occurs, so teams are not overwhelmed,” it said.
Said the IG, “The most effective way to respond to workplace violence incidents is to proactively engage in preventive measures and establish a violence-free workplace. When workplace violence incidents are not properly reported or documented, it hinders the Postal Service’s ability to establish a violence-free workplace and increases risks for employees and customers.”
Postal management agreed to reiterate responsibilities for reporting incidents to the threat assessment case tracking system and to local threat assessment teams.
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