Postmaster Elaborates on Bias Ruling

I was discouraged by the tenor of the article regarding the bias claim against the Postal Service (“Ruling Backs Postal Worker in Bias Claim,” Feb. 19). I feel compelled to clarify some issues not properly addressed in the article.

Specifically, Judge (Terry J.) Hatter did not rule discrimination against the Postal Service because we did not give the permanent assignment to Ms. Rachael V. Santos. As a Hispanic-American, I have lived most of my life faced with discrimination and would certainly not condone discrimination of any kind.

The fact that Gloria Steinem spoke at a function was not the issue; in fact, postal officials from Washington testified to this fact. There was never a problem with the chosen speaker, so much as Ms. Santos’ handling of the function, particularly in regard to accounting documents and monies collected that she chose to hold on to.

Ms. Santos was not and could not be “terminated” from her position--it was not her job in the first place. Like four other women “detailed” into the job throughout the absence of the employee permanently assigned to the position in question, Ms. Santos occupied the job on a temporary basis and could be removed at any time. We regularly “detail” (temporarily assign) employees into other positions so they may gain experience and explore career options, but this in no way implies the person will get the job on a permanent basis.

Judge Hatter sided with the government in recognizing that Ms. Santos’ refusal to hand over the key accounting documents and monies gave me grounds to deny her the permanent position that, in fact, I could not give her since there was already a permanent employee in that position. Unfortunately, the timing of her removal, based solely on her handling of the function, gave Ms. Santos ammunition to imply it was because of the chosen speaker.

HECTOR G. GODINEZ, General Manager/Postmaster, Santa Ana