EP Border Patrol Union at odds with CBP over medical leave, reassignment policies

The local border patrol union is at odds with Customs and Border Protection’s policy when it comes to employees asking for time off for non-work related medical issues.

Union representatives said they’ve had multiple agents complain because they feel the agency is asking for too much personal medical information in order for to get time off, or in order to get temporary light duty approved.

“I’ll use an example. If I were to say go and get a vasectomy, I would have some medical restrictions after that procedure. the agency would not let me come back to work unless I told them what procedure I had done,” said Stuart Harris, vice president of the border patrol union in El Paso. “Even if I had provided them with documentation from a doctor that says here are the restrictions this employee has.”

It’s not a new policy. Border Patrol Spokesman Joe Romero said the current “Temporary Light Duty” was implemented in 2012, and has not changed since. Still, it’s an issue that union representatives feel they need to bring up.

ABC-7 received this statement from Border Patrol: “In reference to the concerns of agents having to disclose too much personal information in order to get their request approved, it should be noted this information is required pursuant to the directive, the authorities cited and in order for management to make an informed decision on the request for temporary light duty.”

Romero told ABC-7 said this is a national policy, not just an El Paso Sector policy. Union representatives said they’ve brought up their concerns to the El Paso border patrol chief.

“Their basic response is ‘that’s what the policy says,'” said Robert Russell, president of the El Paso border patrol union. “They gave no rhyme or reason as to why they had to have the information. What ends up happening is employees are having to disclose things that their employers don’t need to know about.”

The “Temporary Light Duty” policy states: “The documentation must describe the nature of the medical condition and diagnosis warranting the request for temporary light duty, the medical restrictions, and the medical basis for those restrictions.“

Russell said he had back surgery before the current policy was in place. He said all he had to provide was a doctor’s note saying what he could and could not do.

“Now if I had that same type of issue, they’d want to know why I had the surgery, what was wrong with my back,” Russell said. “Who knows, they might have sent me for a fitness for duty to test, saying ‘oh we don’t think you can do your job anymore.'”

Jose Frescas works for the union as the liaison between agents and the Department of Labor. He said agents tell him they’re frustrated having to go back to their doctors for more information.

“It’s starting to get to the point where there’s some doctors who don’t even want to work with border patrol agents because of the excessive information they’re asking for,” Frescas said.

The union representatives said they have filed three complaints with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.