Slow Mail Ongoing In PA, AG Files Injunction To Halt USPS Changes

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has filed a preliminary injunction seeking an "immediate halt to illegal changes the United States Postal Service" that are preventing Postal workers from effectively delivering the mail. The injunction was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on behalf of seven states.

In mid-August, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office joined 20 states in filing a lawsuit to prevent the U.S. Postal Service from carrying out operational changes they feared would jeopardize the mail-in ballot process for the November election.

The lawsuit was followed almost immediately by a statement from U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who said that all policy or operational changes will be suspended until after the election.

Now, three weeks later, Pennsylvania officials continue to express concerns about the pace and efficiency of mail delivery.

“Postmaster General DeJoy’s promises to suspend new initiatives that slowed down the mail have been proven false. We need the court to step in and stop changes that have prevented postal workers from doing their jobs,” Shapiro said in a Thursday statement. He noted the new initiatives that are slowing mail — which include a reduction in mail carrier hours and equipment — could jeopardize the November election, which is expected to rely heavily on mail-in ballots.

Shapiro cited two disturbing examples of the impacts of slowed mail in the state.

A former teacher who was a recent heart transplant patient had to wait 10 days to receive an order form in the mail for a blood draw despite the form coming from the same city she lived in, Shapiro said.

Also, a small business owner recently sent a furloughed employee her last paycheck by first-class mail, but more than three weeks later the check had still not been delivered.

The preliminary injunction filing says the Postmaster General is required to submit proposed changes to the Postal Regulatory Commission before they take effect. "Since this legally mandated process was not followed, these changes should be stopped until further review," information from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office said.