Does anyone else remember that famous slogan of the intrepid and the persistent?
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds
The undaunted and strong nature of our national postal service was embodied in that jargon. That is actually a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) motto. There are two, however. The second is
The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities.
I really like the adjectives. USPS services shall be "prompt, reliable, and efficient." There are many jokes about mail, but Pat Paulson is perhaps the quintessential with:
"The federal government spends millions to run the Postal Service. I could lose your mail for half of that."
January brought intriguing news from the great bureaucracy that is the USPS. There is unlikely anyone who would argue the USPS should be seen as an exemplar of efficiency or effectiveness. Recent news stories around the country are about significant delays in delivery (80 days, "prompt?"), deficiencies, and issues. These little trucks ply our neighborhoods and communities bringing an endless supply of irrelevant coupons, unwanted catalogs, and monetary pleas.
There are many good arguments for avoiding the USPS. Some might even say price is an issue. Money magazine reported recently that
"Stamp prices will rise to 68 cents this weekend — the fifth hike in less than three years. This probably won't be the only stamp price increase in 2024, either."
Yes, the good news is that while service will be dismal and delayed, at least the price will be higher. Reportedly, the rapidly escalating prices at the USPS are due to
“inflationary pressures on operating expenses and the effects of a previously defective pricing model.”
Yes, that is what it says. The admission is that the USPS has been poorly managed and that has enabled an economic outcome that is not sustainable. Perhaps the only flaw is in the "previously," because the increases will continue, the waste will continue, and the defective will continue. It is not news here. See E-Filing Landmarks (March 2014). I have noted before that postage prices have not paced inflation, but those concerns were ignored. E-JCC Saves Millions (October 2013)
We announced recently that the Zip Code for our Tallahassee office (including our Clerk’s Office) is changing from 32399 to 32301, based on guidance from that local post office. The Post Office has struggled recently to deliver the mail that is labeled 32399. One must discount and ignore that the exact same Post Office has been successfully delivering our mail with this Zip Code for decades. What changed?
To paraphrase Rick Springfield (Jessie's Girl, Working Class Dog, RCA 1982):
But lately something's changed(and it's) hard to define
This is a challenge. And it will be compounded when we ask you to change your contact information for us again in a year or so. Yes, after decades on Apalachee Parkway the DOAH operation will be moving to a new location. That will take some getting used to in a broad sense, but for now change our Zip Code to 32301. Of course, there is little purpose for the Postal Service in Florida workers' compensation. Since we switched to mandatory e-filing, it has been a redundancy in most instances.
EXCEPT: if you have something that cannot be e-filed, such as a video, or an x-ray film, that can be mailed to the clerk's office. Occasionally, we get a demonstrative filed (one of the objects the plant was manufacturing and the worker was lifting/carrying/handling). These instances should be rare (judges don't read x-rays, we count on experts interpreting them). If you are filing an x-ray film, ask yourself about relevance, context, and probity. But, file what you believe you must.
Why did the USPS suddenly decide that the Zip Code we have been using forever is no longer valid? That is hard to say. If only it were an isolated challenge.
I recently got news that there is a mail issue at the Rodhe Building in Miami. That houses our Miami District Office and has for decades. One tower was built in the days of Wage Loss (1976) and the other shortly after (1986). I think the OJCC moved into the South Tower in about 1977, and to the North Tower in 2007. It is a state-owned building, full of state agencies. And daily, it seems, "they've got mail." And, like so many buildings of the era there are USPS mailboxes built right into the building. That's convenient.
Well, that was convenient. Those who deliver to that address have decided that those built in, time-tested, convenient mailboxes no longer suffice. Rumor has it they are working on a motto change from
"render postal services to all communities"
to
"render postal services to all communities (that have kept up with our changes regarding mail boxes and our convenience)"
So, the mailboxes, after decades of consistent use and acceptance, are somehow (ambiguity is king) now inappropriate. So, the postal service has decided not to use them any longer, pending a visit to Miami by a postal service official from Washington, D.C. Yes, we understand that a mailbox expert will be dispatched from the nation's capital to review the mailbox situation and perhaps propose remedies or remediations. This is, indeed, apparently rocket surgery and expert USPS consultation is required.
In the meantime, the USPS might just deliver the mail as they have for decades. But, instead, they have elected to deliver all of the mail for the agencies in the two, ten-story, Rohde building to one agency.
That agency is not equipped or staffed to distribute the mail to all the various tenants. So, the mail is unceremoniously deposited in a hallway, in a cardboard box marked "mail" in sharpie. To protect the mail from any impacts of weather, or mopping, the box is carefully balanced on two five-gallon buckets. It has to be seen to be believed.
Thus, the realities of the deteriorating world of service reinforce the OJCC Rules. E-file your documents. Do not send paper mail to the District Offices. Tell your clients not to send mail to the District Offices. Electronic Filing is mandatory, not discretionary, except for the unrepresented (see below). Any documents or materials that are mailed should be sent only to the Clerk's Office (use that new Zip Code - 32301).
Thanks for reading. I have to go now and read my Christmas Cards that just arrived. Oh, to have holiday greetings now that spring has come. Perhaps they were stored in a cardboard box somewhere while my thirty-year-old mailbox was being expertly evaluated by a world traveler, Kevin Costner perhaps? (The Postman, Warner Brothers 1997).
I am certain that you just cannot make this stuff up. Thanks to all the intrepid letter carriers out there. We appreciate your efforts and regret the many trepidations and challenges you face in this complex world (yes, sarcasm, sorry).
Central Clerks Office
Email: AskOJCC@doah.state.fl.usPhone: (850) 487-1911 Fax: (850) 487-0724
Mailing Address
Office of the Judges of Compensations Claims - Central Clerks Office
1230 Apalachee Parkway
Tallahassee, FL 32301
60Q-6.108. FILING AND SERVICE
(1) Filing.
(a) All documents filed with the OJCC, except documents filed by parties who are not represented by an attorney, shall be filed by electronic means through the OJCC website. Any document filed in paper form by U.S. mail, facsimile, or delivery shall be filed only with the OJCC clerk in Tallahassee. Documents shall be filed by only one method, e-filing, facsimile, or U.S. mail, and shall not be filed multiple times. Duplicate filings will not be docketed and will be destroyed.