USPS Is Fighting to Block the Release of Data on Mail Delays

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, left, talks with Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., before a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on the Postal Service on Capitol Hill Aug. 24.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, left, talks with Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., before a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on the Postal Service on Capitol Hill Aug. 24. Tom Williams/Pool via AP

The Postal Service is fending off pressures before its regulator and federal courts, but it's already suffered one setback.

Facing mounting legal challenges against reforms undertaken by its new leader, the U.S. Postal Service is seeking to prevent weekly public disclosure of mail delay data. 

USPS is facing an effort to force it to make public its performance data, with the aim of demonstrating the depths of the current mail delays that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has admitted have accelerated in recent weeks. Postal management has pushed back, filing an objection to its regulator saying such disclosures are unnecessary and would buck the standard timing for their release. The effort to obtain data comes as the Postal Service is fending off at least a dozen lawsuits around the country looking to block changes DeJoy has put into place, including one states-led effort that has been fast tracked in federal court. 

Steve Hutkins, a long-time gadfly for postal management, filed his request for weekly reports on USPS on-time performance to the Postal Regulatory Commission earlier this month. Hutkins noted that DeJoy’s emphasis on operating each step of postal delivery on a set schedule—even if that leads to mail getting left behind—has caused delays, which the postmaster general repeatedly acknowledged in recent congressional hearings. He also suggested in his filing that DeJoy’s reforms and the subsequent mail delays could amount to a de facto change in service standards, which would normally require an advisory opinion from PRC, heightening the need for disclosures. Additionally, he said, the upcoming election puts delivery data in the public interest. 

Typically, the Postal Service reports its performance data to the PRC quarterly and the regulator conducts a review of it on an annual basis. The next quarterly report will not be made public until November, however, and PRC’s review would likely come out in December. 

“Under normal circumstances, quarterly reports and the annual review are sufficient to satisfy the relevant statutes,” Hutkins said. “And under normal circumstances, the extent to which performance is meeting targets and standards does not change dramatically on a week-to-week basis. The current moment is different, however.” 

Presentations to the Postal Service’s largest customers and internal reports made public by House Democrats show dramatic upticks in delayed mail, supporting anecdotal reports by large-scale mailers and USPS employees. Slides prepared for DeJoy on Aug. 12 show on-time delivery declining by between 8% and 10% across the Postal Service’s mail offerings. On Monday, the Postal Service proactively released data that showed on-time performance starting to rebound in mid-August. 

“This recovery took place while still adhering to our existing transportation schedules," DeJoy said Monday. "In other words, we are improving service performance while more consistently running our trucks on time.”

Despite releasing the new data, USPS submitted a rebuttal to the PRC Friday, saying Hutkins erred in seeking to attach his request to a 2019 compliance report. It also said PRC reviews are conducted on a pre-set schedule and there are no regulations that require more frequent reporting. While USPS released data nearly in real time Monday, it said the current quarterly timetable is necessary to allow the agency to ensure the accuracy of its information. 

PRC has not yet ruled on the matter. It can effectively block Hutkins’ efforts by remaining silent. 

USPS is facing multiple additional efforts to make more of its data public. The House Oversight and Reform Committee, led by Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said on Monday it will subpoena documents from DeJoy related to mail delays, the decommissioning of mail sorting machines and overtime use. Democrats on the committee said DeJoy has ignored requests to produce such information and Maloney reminded the postmaster general the subpoena “makes clear as a legal matter the production of these documents is mandatory.” Maloney also issued a document request to Robert Duncan, who chairs the USPS board of governors. 

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the top Republican on the oversight committee, said Democrats were forcing USPS to spend “hundreds of hours” producing documents as part of an effort “to promote a baseless conspiracy theory about the Postal Service.” 

USPS said it is working with the committee to provide it the information it is seeking, in addition to providing a briefing Monday on the most recent service statistics. 

"Given the straightforward and cooperative nature of these communications with the Committee staff, we were frankly surprised and confused by Chairwoman Maloney’s statement today about her intent to issue a subpoena to the Postal Service," the agency said in a statement. "We will continue to cooperate with the oversight committees in both the House and Senate, and we fully intend to comply with our obligations under the law."

Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington granted a request for expedited discovery in a case in which Washington and 13 other states sued USPS seeking to block DeJoy’s changes and other cost-saving efforts previously underway at the agency. The lawsuit alleged that USPS has taken actions that would slow the delivery of election mail, creating an urgency for document production. The court ruled the states’ request was “not unduly burdensome” and was necessary due to their plan to file for a preliminary injunction. 

In their lawsuit, like those filed by dozens of other states and outside groups, the attorneys general quoted President Trump disparaging the Postal Service and mail-in voting. They alleged DeJoy’s changes were “procedurally and substantively unlawful,” as USPS failed to go through the PRC and could be disenfranchising voters. DeJoy has already pushed back on some of the allegations in the lawsuit, pausing the decommissioning of sorting machines and removal of blue collection boxes. He has also maintained that he never issued an edict to cut overtime, though many local supervisors around the country have implemented reductions. 

The Justice Department, arguing in support of the Postal Service and against expedited discovery, had said much of the information would be coming out “imminently” anyway and the plaintiffs’ request was overly broad. The court rejected those arguments and gave USPS 10 days to produce its data. 

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.