Census Workers Feel Pressure To Complete Surveys

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A former Fargo-based U.S. Census worker says field representatives are facing undue pressure to complete surveys, even if it means harassing potential respondents and returning to homes where people were hostile.

Sally Stutlien tells The Forum newspaper that what field representatives are forced to do "amounts to government-sanctioned stalking."

She filed formal complaints against the Census Bureau with two federal agencies. Neither the Occupational Safety and Health Administration nor the Office of Special Counsel found evidence of any wrongdoing.

The Census Bureau conducts more than 100 types of household surveys each year. Tim Olson with the agency says it can't discuss Stutlien's complaint because of personnel privacy rules. But he says staff are trained that if they get into a difficult situation, to get out of it.