Thursday, February 29, 2024
Pilot programs need privacy, too
USPS must comply with federal requirements
The Postal Service wants employees and contractors to know that the requirements under the Privacy Act of 1974 also apply to the organization’s pilot programs.
The Privacy Act sets protections for personal information that USPS maintains in a “system of records,” which is any file, database or program from which the information is retrieved by name or another identifier.
To comply with the Privacy Act, the Postal Service must strictly limit how personal information is collected, used, disclosed, stored and discarded. This applies regardless of where the information is located — whether within USPS or with a contractor.
If a Postal Service pilot program requires the use of live data, the Privacy Act applies.
This means the organization’s privacy requirements — which include obtaining approval from the chief privacy and records management officer — must be complied with prior to implementing a pilot program, regardless of whether the program is conducted by USPS or through a contractor or business partner.
For questions regarding the Postal Service’s privacy requirements or processes, email the USPS Privacy Office. Any interpretation of the Privacy Act or its application must be made by the USPS Law Department and the chief privacy and records management officer.
Off the Clock
‘I had a gift’
This employee turned his childhood interest in art into a painting hobby
My name is George Collins and I’m a general expeditor at the Los Angeles Processing and Distribution Center.
Since elementary school, I have been interested in art. If I wasn’t playing sports, I would be sketching.
I could always draw, and when I was in school and did a painting, teachers would display it in my classroom or other classrooms. I had a gift.
My mom was a single mom. She told me, “Junior, your dad would go to the waterfront in Seattle and paint pictures. You got that talent from him.”
I didn’t go to school for it. I saw color and form in my head.
Before I began my career at the Postal Service, I served in the military. Before that, I painted.
I had two brothers who went to Vietnam, and they saw a lot of frightening stuff over there. Nobody comes back right after seeing and doing that stuff. I told them to come to the house and stay with me and my mom and my daughters.
I took care of them. We went back and forth to the Veterans Administration hospital a lot, so I wasn’t able to do my drawing and painting like I used to.
In the early 1980s I got sick with pneumococcal meningitis and then went into a coma for nine days. I don’t remember dates too well after that.
The P&DC recently displayed some paintings that I did 20 to 25 years ago. Until the paintings went on display, nobody knew about my artwork except for my family.
I got a heavy response from my co-workers, and I’m grateful for that.
“Off the Clock,” a column on Postal Service employees and their after-hours pursuits, appears regularly in Link.
WestPac, California 6 lead in scanning data
A snapshot of Postal Service scanning data shows the national rating was 96.38 percent during the week ending Feb. 23, down 0.43 percent from one week earlier.
The data was collected Feb. 28.
WestPac led the four areas with a rating of 96.97 percent, while Southern ranked last with a 95.56 percent rating.
Among the 50 districts, California 6, part of WestPac Area, ranked first with a 97.89 percent rating, while South Carolina, part of Southern Area, ranked last with a 90.55 percent rating.
Scanning data allows customers to track their mail and packages, which helps USPS deliver excellent service, boost loyalty and drive revenue.
To see the latest data, go to the Informed Visibility website and select “Customer Experience,” followed by “DES 2 Scan Performance.” Postal Service employees must request Informed Visibility access through eAccess.