Are ya'll being nice to ....

[menageriekeeper]

I am currently on a "leave of absence" from my work because my first two paychecks were not correctly deposited into my account. I have spent the past 10 days or so trying to get this straightened out, but have been unsuccessful so far. :BangHead:

They haven't mailed you a check to straighten out the problem?

I foresaw this to be a problem for some when they didn't ask for voided checks to scan rather than entering account #'s manually. Much to easy to transpose a number without realizing it.

I hope you get it corrected soon.

 

[FR7 Baptist]

I don't know if this happened to anyone else but we can no longer submit refusals unless the person gets violent or something. Now the procedure is to file the D-225 as usual and give the EQs to the crew leader and then the CL will assign them to another enumerator who will be paired up with someone else and then they will go back to try to interview the resident again. If that fails, we have to get the information through other means. To make things worse, they sent back all of the refusals that were already submitted for us to get information on. These are low priority so we're going to save them until we run out of binders. I have two binders assigned to me now. At this point, we have four binders left before we run out. Hopefully I can finish one of mine soon and get another one. We're slightly ahead of some of the other crews in our area so there's some chance that we might get some of their binders or they will reassign us to other crews when we're done which will give us a little bit more work. I've probably got about two weeks left before we finish. I'm on week five now, so that would give me seven weeks which isn't too bad. Plus I have the best performance in my crew based off the numbers which is one of the things they look at when choosing who to call back for the Vacant/Delete Check operation in July- September, which uses a much smaller number of people than Non-response Follow Up.

 

[menageriekeeper]

They sent all our refusals back too Paul. Your group must have a bigger territory or your leaders are just a little slower than ours were.

 

[JohnDeereFan]

And you liberals wonder why we don't trust these idiots:

Thousands of census workers, including many temporary employees, are fanning out across America to gather information on the citizenry. This is a process that takes place not only every decade in order to complete the constitutionally-mandated census; but also as part of the continuing “American Community Survey” conducted by the Census Bureau on a regular basis year in and year out.

What many Americans don’t realize, is that census workers — from the head of the Bureau and the Secretary of Commerce (its parent agency) down to the lowliest and newest Census employee — are empowered under federal law to actually demand access to any apartment or any other type of home or room that is rented out...

http://blogs.ajc.com/bob-barr-blog/...ers-can-enter-your-apartment-in-your-absence/

 

[menageriekeeper]

Access and entry are two different things.

Yes, we get to come onto your property and knock on your front door and you can't run us off with a gun or call the police and charge us with tresspassing. However, all enumerators we told in training not go into a house without an invitation and even then to think twice (this for our own safety).

We were not told that we could demand entry to an individual's home. Because we can't, that would be considered an unlawful search.

The law is a funny thing JDF, and it sometimes uses definitions that we would ordinarily consider broad in a very strict manner.

 

[JohnDeereFan]

Access and entry are two different things.

Yes, we get to come onto your property and knock on your front door and you can't run us off with a gun or call the police and charge us with tresspassing. However, all enumerators we told in training not go into a house without an invitation and even then to think twice (this for our own safety).

We were not told that we could demand entry to an individual's home. Because we can't, that would be considered an unlawful search.

The law is a funny thing JDF, and it sometimes uses definitions that we would ordinarily consider broad in a very strict manner.

Sorry, but there are just too many examples coming out now to believe your story.

 

[targus]

Access and entry are two different things.

Yes, we get to come onto your property and knock on your front door and you can't run us off with a gun or call the police and charge us with tresspassing. However, all enumerators we told in training not go into a house without an invitation and even then to think twice (this for our own safety).

We were not told that we could demand entry to an individual's home. Because we can't, that would be considered an unlawful search.

The law is a funny thing JDF, and it sometimes uses definitions that we would ordinarily consider broad in a very strict manner.

The linked article says something different:

"If the landlord of such apartment or other leased premises refuses to grant the government worker access to your living quarters, whether you are present or not, the landlord can be fined $500.00.

That’s right — not only can citizens be fined if they fail to answer the increasingly intrusive questions asked of them by the federal government under the guise of simply counting the number of people in the country; but a landlord must give them access to your apartment whether you’re there or not..."

 

[menageriekeeper]

Access is NOT ENTRY. Access is the right to knock on your door.

Okay, examples are in order:

In Alabama, we don't have high rise apts. We have small buildings that house 2-4 apts all grouped together into a complex that others might think are condos. We call them apartments. Not hard to walk up to the door of an individual unit and knock.

In New York though, you have a huge building with many, many apartments, sometimes with ONE common entry that might guarded by an overzealous doorman or simply locked because all the tenants have a key to the common door.

Because Census information is private! we can't leave a dozen "Notice of Visit" leaflets on a common doorway where they might blow away or be taken by someone else. We have to leave it on the door of the individual living quarter that we are looking to enumerate. We have to have ACCESS to the apartment door to do that.

The article in the OP is making a mountain out of a molehill and so are you.

 

[JohnDeereFan]

In Alabama, we don't have high rise apts.

That's funny, they had them when I lived in Birmingham. What happened to them?

Because Census information is private!

Why is it private?

 

[Speedpass]

I am no longer able to work as an enumerator because my CL claims that many units I recorded as "vacant" are actually occupied. She also says that one of my proxies lives eight miles away from the property in question. I was hoping to return this week since most of my back pay issues are resolved, but that is what I got when I called her this morning.

 

[Trotter]

Why is it private?

All Census materials are regarded as PII (personally identifiable information), no matter what it is. All enumerators are required to hand the person they are interviewing a sheet that states that all information is private and confidential... as well as a summary of the law regarding answering the Census. While this has nothing on it about anyone, even it is regarded as PII and must be protected.

All Census workers must take pains to protect the information they are given, both by the Census and all respondents. This includes locking up all papers and binders, even while in their own home. No Census worker can share information about those they visit... even with family members.

As for the article, it is just like menageriekeeper said... access is just that, the ability to go up to the door. This means that a landlord cannot deny an enumerator access tot he property, or that a gated community can refuse to allow enumerators to do their job. The dude writing the article makes it sound like the Census can march right in, sit down on your couch, and eat you fried chicken from off of your plate. It doesn't work like that.
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Sorry to hear that, Speedpass. Sounds like you CL needs an "attitudinal" adjustment.

 

[FR7 Baptist]

The relevant statute is 13 U.S.C. 223:

"Whoever, being the owner, proprietor, manager, superintendent, or agent of any hotel, apartment house, boarding or lodging house, tenement, or other building, refuses or willfully neglects, when requested by the Secretary or by any other officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof, acting under the instructions of the Secretary, to furnish the names of the occupants of such premises, or to give free ingress thereto and egress therefrom to any duly accredited representative of such Department or bureau or agency thereof, so as to permit the collection of statistics with respect to any census provided for in subchapters I and II of chapter 5 of this title, or any survey authorized by subchapter IV or V of such chapter insofar as such survey relates to any of the subjects for which censuses are provided by such subchapters I and II, including, when relevant to the census or survey being taken or made, the proper and correct enumeration of all persons having their usual place of abode in such premises, shall be fined not more than $500."

We're only allowed to go into a residence if the resident invites us in. As far as this code goes, I'm currently dealing with an uncooperative assistant manager at an apartment complex. She said that the (off-site) manager said to not give any information except which apartments were vacant on April 1. The law says she has to provide a list of names. I have about ten units in that complex where the residents on April 1 are no longer there and a few more where I can't get anyone after four visits. This is when I normally go to the manager. All of the other managers at other apartments have given me lots of info such as names, relationships, dates of birth, Hispanic origin, and race. This lady won't.

I'm not supposed to tell people that it's required by law unless they ask. It has to be a supervisor to do that. So my CLA goes to talk to her and tells her, in a nice way, that it's required by law to provide a list of names so we can at least get a headcount. Then the assistant manager called the manager who called the Census 1-800 number and the people there told him it's not required by law. So then he calls the assistant manager who then calls my CLA and tells him that the Census is to stay out of the complex, also in violation of the law. The assistant manager seems to be ****** off at the Census Bureau. So then my CLA and I both talk to my CL who then calls the Local Census Office (LCO) and then the LCO calls the Regional Census Center (RCC) in Atlanta. Now the RCC will decide what to do and will inform the LCO and they will inform my CL who will inform me.

 

[JohnDeereFan]

All Census materials are regarded as PII (personally identifiable information), no matter what it is. All enumerators are required to hand the person they are interviewing a sheet that states that all information is private and confidential... as well as a summary of the law regarding answering the Census. While this has nothing on it about anyone, even it is regarded as PII and must be protected.

All Census workers must take pains to protect the information they are given, both by the Census and all respondents. This includes locking up all papers and binders, even while in their own home. No Census worker can share information about those they visit... even with family members.

As for the article, it is just like menageriekeeper said... access is just that, the ability to go up to the door. This means that a landlord cannot deny an enumerator access tot he property, or that a gated community can refuse to allow enumerators to do their job. The dude writing the article makes it sound like the Census can march right in, sit down on your couch, and eat you fried chicken from off of your plate. It doesn't work like that.

I didn't ask if it was private, I asked why it's private.

 

[FR7 Baptist]

Update: My crew is finishing at the close of business tomorrow. On Tuesday we are meeting and turning in our materials and badges. My CL recommended me for the other Census operations this summer and there's also some chance that I'll be helping another crew in another district finish up. My CL is also giving me a letter of recommendation to future employers. If I don't get another assignment from the Bureau immediately, I'm going to go ahead and start looking for another job. That way I'm not sitting around and if they call me for another operation, I'll accept if I haven't found a job and decline if I have.

 

[Scarlett O.]

Yes, I was nice to the census man who came around to remind us all to turn in our forms and ask if anyone wanted to work the census.

Can I interject some humor?

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[JohnDeereFan]

I didn't ask if it was private, I asked why it's private.

And it doesn't look like I'm going to get an answer.

 

[menageriekeeper]

Sorry JDF, I've been busy and totally missed the last few posts. And now you've confused me. Why is what private? Your info or your front door?

Scarlett, I love the census kitty! That was hilarious!