The Postal Service is marking USPS Ethics Awareness Week by reminding employees to follow the rules on using the organization’s property.
Misusing postal property violates federal ethics rules and can result in discipline, fines, garnishment of wages and termination of employment.
Employees should never:
• Use a USPS-issued phone or computer for an outside business or second job; partisan political activity; gambling; pyramid schemes; to send or store inappropriate pictures or email messages; or to go to inappropriate websites. This applies whether employees are on or off duty.
• Use a Postal Service vehicle for personal trips or deviate from their route for personal reasons. For example, employees cannot use a USPS vehicle to travel to the airport for annual leave, and they cannot use a postal vehicle to commute from home to work unless they have received authorization.
• Use a USPS travel card to pay for personal expenses. Employees should keep their postal cards in a different location from their personal cards so they don’t mix them up. Also, employees should never use a Voyager card to put fuel in a personal vehicle or to pay for snacks, drinks or other convenience items.
Additionally, any reward points earned using a Voyager card to purchase fuel are considered postal property.
Both the Postal Service and the USPS Office of Inspector General routinely audit Voyager card usage, and violators are regularly caught.
• Borrow money from a postal drawer, even if they intend to repay it later.
Additionally, employees should remember their USPS ID is postal property and an important security measure. They should never alter or damage the badge in any way or allow others to use it.
The Ethics Blue page covers these topics in more detail.
For more information, employees can email the Postal Service’s ethics helpline or call 202-268-6346.
