A U.S. Postal Service employee is suing the postal service and the postmaster general alleging they engaged in unreasonable searches of his personal effects.
Sterling H. Jones filed a lawsuit Feb. 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas Houston Division against Postmaster General Patrick R. Donohoe and the U.S. Postal Service, citing invasion of privacy and violations of 42 U.S.C. Sect. 1983 and 1981.
According to the complaint, Jones was an employee of the Postal Service. Jones states he had a reasonable expectation of privacy concerning his personal communications and effects at his place of employment. He alleges the defendant violated his protected rights by engaging in unreasonable searches in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The plaintiff further alleges the defendant violated the Postal Service Privacy Act by disclosing information about the plaintiff to another Postal Service employee, "who had no official need to know the disclosed information."
Jones is seeking an undisclosed amount of damages and costs.
He is being represented by attorney Woodrow Epperson of Houston.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas Case No. 4:14-cv-00338
This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.