Mail carrier says he was suspended after expressing winter safety concerns in Facebook post

FAIRFIELD, Ohio (WXIX/Gray News) - A mail carrier said he was suspended from his job without pay amid an internal investigation after expressing safety concerns during the winter storm on Facebook.

Cincinnati was hit with historic snowfall and dangerous cold over the weekend because of the winter storm that impacted 24 states.

After being snowed in, Jason Thompson left his house in the morning to drive to a USPS facility in the northern Cincinnati suburb of Fairfield, Ohio. He has worked as a mail carrier for more than two decades.

Thompson said he left early and it still took him 45 minutes to get to work when it usually only takes 20 minutes. He said the roads were “snow-covered and dangerous.”

“A lot of people aren’t aware of what we experience every day. That’s fine. As carriers, we are kind of used to the expectation,” he said.

When Thompson got to work, he found USPS trucks buried in snow and no packages to deliver.

“Our parking lot was poorly plowed. All the plowing was covering all the postal trucks, kind of burying them,” he said.

USPS carriers are typically expected to clean off their own trucks, he said.

“If it’s two feet on the sides, we’re buried. We need more resources. A shovel isn’t going to do it. It’s strenuous on men and women of different ages to accomplish it,” he said.

Thompson said there was no communication from corporate to the carriers, so he didn’t know what would be waiting for him when he got to work.

“The volume of the mail packages is probably going to be double or triple with another delay. You’re going to be expected to do more volume in the same conditions,” he said.

Thompson expressed his frustrations in a Facebook post about winter safety.

Thompson said USPS contacted him shortly after and told him to “take it down ... or there could be repercussions.”

He said USPS put him on “emergency placement” without pay while they investigate.

WXIX reached out to USPS about the allegations in Thompson’s post.

USPS said it delivers mail in cold weather to ensure delivery of critical items and that employee safety is a top priority. It said it continuously monitors weather conditions and that delivery decisions are made with employee safety in mind.

“The safety of our employees is a top priority, particularly during periods of severe cold,” a USPS spokesperson said in a statement.

Thompson said he put his career on the line to help those who are too scared to speak up.

“This isn’t meant to be a negative thing,” he said. “This is for positive awareness. I want some more resources, accountability and change within the post office, not just in my post office but nationwide.”

Shortly after WXIX aired Thompson’s story Monday, he said he was told to come back to work Thursday.

Thompson said he plans to be there.