Federal Reports

The Postal Service is required to maintain a safe and healthy environment for both employees and customers in accordance with its internal policies and procedures1 and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety laws. Our fieldwork was completed before the President of the U.S. issued the national emergency declaration concerning the novel coronavirus disease outbreak (COVID-19) on March 13, 2020. The results of this audit do not reflect operational changes and/or service impacts that may have occurred at these facilities as a result of the pandemic. Our objective was to determine if Postal Service management is adhering to building maintenance, safety, and security standards, and employee working condition requirements at the Miami Springs (leased), Promenade (leased), and Doral (owned) Post Offices in the South Florida District.

The Semiannual Report to Congress summarizes the results of OIG oversight, provides statistical information, and lists all reports issued October 1, 2019 – March 31, 2020. During this reporting period, OIG audits, investigations, inspections, evaluations, and other reviews identified nearly $866.8 million in monetary benefits for a return of $10 for every dollar invested in OIG oversight. Also during this reporting period, the OIG issued 154 reports and publications on VA programs and operations, made 777 recommendations, and conducted investigations that led to 142 arrests.

The In-Office Cost System (IOCS) is the primary probability sampling system the U.S. Postal Service uses to attribute the labor costs of clerks, mail handlers, city carriers, and supervisors related to handling the mail. Data collected from IOCS enables the Postal Service to allocate labor costs to each mail category. The accuracy of product cost allocation is vital because the Postal Service is mandated to ensure all products cover their costs.The IOCS is designed to supplement accounting system labor cost data by sampling mail handled by employees. Specifically, an IOCS reading is an observation that represents a snapshot of an employee’s work activities at selected points in time throughout the year. In fiscal year (FY) 2019, IOCS sampled readings cost the Postal Service over $14 million and included 214,789 in-person readings, 339,318 telephone readings, and 20,869 missing or cancelled readings.