By Ross Marchand
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is struggling financially and is epically inept. But the agency is still quite capable of causing trouble for vulnerable Americans. From digital snooping on protestors to warrantless inspections of political merch to law enforcement mission creep, the USPS needs a lesson in accountability. The problem is that the agency thinks it is above the law and cannot be held to answer for its actions. The Supreme Court has a historic opportunity to change this sorry status quo and give Americans their day in court. It’s time for the USPS to face some long-overdue accountability before the bench.
Texas landlord Lebene Konan found out about the USPS’ aversion to accountability the hard way. Konan — who is black and rents to white tenants — was allegedly the victim of a years’ long harassment campaign by two local postal employees who weren’t fond of interracial renting. As her legal team notes, “[t]he harassment campaign started when Rojas, the local mail carrier, changed the designated owner of one of Ms. Konan’s properties to one of her white tenants. … When Ms. Konan complained to the local post office, the USPS Inspector General ‘confirmed that [she] owned the property’ and ordered ‘that mail be delivered.’” But the local postmaster overrode that directive, and things only escalated from there. The local post office marked her mail “undeliverable,” refused to deliver to her, and gave her a hard time when she came in to pick up her mail. This despicable course of conduct not only cost Ms. Konan rental income but also prevented her from accessing critical mail such as medications and doctor’s bills.
The good news is that, under the 1946 Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) , plaintiffs can bring civil lawsuits against the government in federal court “under circumstances where the United States, if a private person, would be liable to the plaintiff in accordance with the law of the place where the act or omission occurred.” The bad news is there’s an exception for “[a]ny claim arising out of the loss, miscarriage, or negligent transmission of letters or postal matter.” This postal loophole is disturbingly broad, shielding the USPS from liability even if the agency harms patients by losing their medications. But, at least this loophole doesn’t include intentional sabotage of the mail. Based on a straightforward and common-sense reading of words such as “loss,” “miscarriage,” and “negligent,” it’s clear that the FTCA’s authors never meant to excuse deliberate wrongdoing by USPS officials or employees.
However, the government begs to differ. According to the Department of Justice, holding postal predators accountable under the FTCA would create a litigation free-for-all in which “any person whose mail is lost or misdelivered could bring a federal tort suit—and potentially proceed to burdensome discovery” on the theory of intentional tampering. This is a silly argument designed to let the USPS off the hook for anything it does wrong. The reality is there’s a world of difference between (rightly) claiming that the mail is way too slow and alleging a series of coordinated efforts to sabotage communications. As Konan’s legal team rightly points out, only a small proportion of complaints against America’s mail carrier are remotely sinister enough to compare to Konan’s plight and probably wouldn’t be worth the plaintiff’s while to pursue in court.
Even if a straightforward reading of the FTCA does ensnare the USPS in greater legal costs, so be it. After all, few would argue that the agency should be able to retaliate against whistleblowers because labor laws are costly to litigate. And, virtually all disgruntled drivers agree that USPS truck drivers should continue to be held legally accountable for reckless driving.
Hopefully, the Supreme Court will agree that a “campaign of terror” inflicted by the USPS against Ms. Konan at least merits a day in court. It’s time to deliver accountability to America’s mail carrier.
Ross Marchand is a senior fellow for the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
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