{"id":24440,"date":"2014-08-24T13:36:07","date_gmt":"2014-08-24T17:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.21cpw.com\/?p=24440"},"modified":"2014-08-24T15:18:31","modified_gmt":"2014-08-24T19:18:31","slug":"are-usps-changes-leading-to-more-work-related-injuries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.21cpw.com\/are-usps-changes-leading-to-more-work-related-injuries\/","title":{"rendered":"Are USPS Changes Leading to More Work-Related Injuries?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Letter carriers and other postal employees have been saying for several years that changes at the Postal Service would lead to more job-related industries. A new report suggests they may be right.<\/p>\n

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“Despite the Postal Service\u2019s efforts to decrease the number of employees [by 19% since 2008], its workers\u2019 compensation costs have increased 35 percent,\u201d the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General noted in a report<\/a><\/strong> last week.<\/p>\n

The OIG pointed out that USPS\u2019s workers compensation costs per work hour are now 59% higher than those of comparable private-industry workforces. But it offered no data that would help explain the dramatic increases, which led to $1.3 billion in workers compensation claims from July 2012 to June 2013.<\/p>\n

The report speculated as to the causes, but most of its guesses seem off the mark: Older workforce? (Nope, it\u2019s not much older on average than it was in 2008.) Cost-of-living adjustments? (Average hourly pay at the Postal Service is up only 7% since 2008.) Workers compensation fraud? (You mean that didn\u2019t exist in 2008?)<\/p>\n

The OIG put forth one plausible explanation \u2013 \u201cthe reduced number of light\/limited duty positions available because of automation and lower mail volume.\u201d But it didn\u2019t consider several other possibilities, most of which have been put forward by front-line employees:<\/p>\n