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(This article first appeared in the November/December 2007 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

Laptop Computers Missing
USPS Puts Employee Information at Risk

Greg Bell, Director
Industrial Relations

The Postal Service recently notified the APWU that several laptop computers containing the personal and confidential information of several hundred APWU bargaining-unit employees, including names, Social Security numbers, home addresses, and other personal information, have been reported missing or stolen in the past year.

USPS officials have informed us that every employee whose personal information was contained on any of these laptop computers has been notified, and they have assured us that there is no indication that any information stored on these laptops has been compromised.

Notwithstanding management assurances, in a day and age when identity theft is a major concern, the union believes that the Postal Service’s response to these incidents is less than satisfactory. In each case where a laptop went missing, it has taken the Postal Service anywhere from six to 12 weeks to notify the union and affected employees.

Identity Theft

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission advises that anyone who gets a notice that personal information may have been compromised take steps quickly to minimize the potential for identity theft.

If the compromised information includes a Social Security number, individuals are advised to place an initial fraud alert on their credit reports, which will prevent the opening of any new credit account in their name. Delays of six to 12 weeks obviously delay an employee’s ability to take preventive action.

In addition, because of the repeated data-security breaches, we are not satisfied that management has taken adequate steps or instituted sufficient measures to prevent laptops from disappearing in the future.

Our Position

The APWU takes these incidents very seriously and we have been discussing this issue with management at the headquarters level in an attempt to address our concerns regarding the missing personal information.

It is the union’s position that no bargaining-unit employee’s personal or confidential information should ever be placed on any portable storage media. We believe that in order to eliminate these types of data-security breaches, the Postal Service should take corrective action to ensure that sensitive information is not being stored on laptops or other portable devices or removable media.

We believe that whenever employee security has been compromised, affected employees should be notified immediately so that they can take proper steps to safeguard their identities and credit.

Regarding Remedies

We have asked the Postal Service what plans they have, if any, to assist and/or compensate employees who become victims of identity theft as a result of compromised Postal Service information. Many employers provide Identity Theft Insurance as an employee benefit, and we believe the Postal Service has an obligation to provide its employees with Identity Theft Insurance in the event that identity theft related to lost or stolen Postal Service information occurs.

We also will continue to urge management to move quickly on removing Social Security numbers from any USPS system that does not absolutely require their inclusion, consistent with the letter and spirit of the MOU “Re: Removal of Social Security Number References” negotiated in the 2006-2010 National Agreement.

In addition, we will push for a general prohibition on the storage of Social Security numbers and other personal information on portable storage devices, such as laptops.

If there is a demonstrable business need for data to be stored in such a fashion, the Postal Service must take every available precaution, including, but not limited to, encryption, biometric password protection, and policies that require “wiping the data clean” after the related task is completed.

We will continue to meet with management to push for a satisfactory resolution of this issue, and we will keep you apprised of our progress.

As of Oct. 1, the Postal Service had notified the APWU about the following reports of missing laptop computers:

DATE REPORTED	AFFECTED UNIT	INFORMATION CONTAINED
June 12, 2007	Louisiana Performance Cluster Delivery Operations	Names, Social Security numbers (SSNs),and other information contained in e-mail and other personnel documents
May 30, 2007	Tennessee District Safety Office	Names, SSNs, and other information contained in e-mail
March 30, 2007	Sierra-Nevada District	Names, SSNs, and other information related to Payroll and Human Resources
Jan. 30, 2007	USPS Headquarters Field EEO	Names, SSNs, and other information related to Human Resources, Equal Employment Opportunity, and Payroll
Nov. 9, 2006	South Florida District	Names and SSNs
Oct. 21, 2006	New York Metro Delivery Support	Names, SSNs, home addresses
Oct. 10, 2006	New Orleans Internal Control Unit	Names, SSNs, birth dates, and other information related to payroll
Sept. 25, 2006	Houston , Texas, Sales Operations Support	Names, SSNs, emergency contact, and personnel information (CA-17, Travel Advance, FMLA)

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