3:59 p.m. ET, August 24, 2020
USPS board chair says he was not aware of controversies involving DeJoy's ex-company
From CNN's Ellie Kaufman
In a heated exchange at a House Oversight Committee hearing, the chairman of the US Postal Service board of governors revealed that he was not aware of several controversies involving Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s former company.
The USPS board, led by chairman Mike Duncan, was responsible for hiring DeJoy this year. A former member of the board told lawmakers last week that the hiring process was highly irregular, though Duncan testified earlier on Monday that he followed proper procedures.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat from Massachusetts, asked if Duncan was aware of several controversies involving DeJoy’s former company, New Breed Logistics. This included a
determination from the National Labor Relations Board that New Breed took actions against unions, that there was a $1.2 million sexual harassment
jury verdict against company, and that some women said they had miscarriages after being overworked at the company. (The latter was the subject of a high-profile
New York Times expose in 2018.)
Duncan said the USPS board conducted a background check on DeJoy before they chose him as the next postmaster general, but Duncan was not aware of the controversies regarding New Breed Logistics.
Here's a portion of the exchange between Pressley and Duncan:
Pressley: "Mr. Duncan, were you aware when you selected Mr. DeJoy that his company, Newbury Logistics, was determined by the National Labor Relations Board to have acted with anti-union animus, yes or no?"
Duncan: "No."
Pressley: "Were you aware that the Equal Opportunity Commission won a $1.2 million lawsuit against Newbury for sexual harassment retaliation, yes or no?"
Duncan: "No."
Pressley: "Were you aware that four women working for Newbury suffered miscarriages because their company refused to accommodate their request for light duty, yes or no?"
Duncan: "No."
Pressley: "Did you make any attempt to investigate these labor and employment practices before making him the head of one of the largest and most diverse federal workforces, if not why not?"
Duncan: "Yes, we have various background checks Russell-Reynolds hired a DC firm to an additional background check on him, we worked with —"
Pressley: "Well I question the integrity of that background check if you don't have answers to these questions."