Forensics Journal - Stevenson University 2011 | Page 13

FORENSICS JOURNAL

The fifteen agreements also create a time limitation as to management’s knowledge of an offense and when a charge must be filed.
Depending on the craft, the time limits are either 30 or 45 days.5

ing over 89,000 separate governmental entities in the Untied States
(Government Units by Type). They include the federal government,
states, counties, municipalities, townships, school districts and special
purposes entities (State & Local Government Finances & Employment: Governmental Units).

Another independent agency of the United States is the United
States Postal Service (USPS), whose employees also enjoy protections
granted in Garrity and Kalkines. In addition, the USPS employs over
580,000 union employees belonging to nine separate unions. The
American Postal Workers Union (APWU) is the largest, with approximately 211,000 members (U.S. Postal Service Labor Negotiations
Fact Sheet). In a broad effort to keep its members informed of their
rights, the APWU published a Special Issue Collective Bargaining
Report (Report) titled, “Defending Against Inspection Service and
OIG Investigations.” (The USPS employs federal investigators with its
Inspection Service and Office of the Inspector General.)

The federal government is particularly impacted by Garrity, Kalkines
and Weingarten. It is the largest single employer in the United States,
with approximately 4.4 million employees (Career Guide to Industries, 2010-11 Edition), and is comprised of over 1,300 separate
entities that fall under the three branches of government: Executive,
Judicial, and Legislative (Federal Agency Directory). The Executive
Branch alone consists of fifteen Departments encompassing hundreds
of agencies (Federal Agency Directory). Many federal entities are
classified as independent or quasi-government agencies. In addition,
the government has formed over one hundred Boards, Commissions,
and Committees as well as organizations formed under the Judicial
and Legislative Branches (Federal Agency Directory). In spite of its
vastness, the federal government has made an overarching concerted
effort to adhere to the provisions provided in the rulings.

The Report details various situations USPS employees have been
involved in and instructs them on how to avoid pitfalls during interviews. For example, with regard to Kalkines, the Report instructs
members to “seek confirmation of immunity” by asking the name
of the Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) who authorized
the granting of use immunity. (Use immunity guarantees that an
employee