NLRB Files Complaint Against USPS for Cyber Attack

April 8, 2015

The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for its failure to negotiate with the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) about the USPS response to a cyberattack that affected employees' personal information.

The USPS waited two months to tell employees about the breach last year. Hackers stole sensitive personnel information, including names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and addresses for about 800,000 postal employees.

This is the first time the NLRB has issued a complaint against an employer over cyber security violations. The NLRB is seeking special remedies to address repeated labor law violations of the USPS.

Washington Post published an article about the NLRB complaint on April 9. APWU President Dimondstein said "By issuing this complaint, the NLRB is recognizing employee rights in the information age."

Murphy Anderson's Melinda K. Holmes is litigating this matter on behalf of the APWU.