We have seen a rash of census workers accused of wrongdoing this month. In Indiana, Daniel Miller, 39, (left) is accused of raping a 21-year-old disabled woman after forcing his way into her home during a Census visit, here. In New Jersey, Frank J. Kuni was arrested after a woman recognized him as a sex offender. In St. Louis, a citizen was bitten in the stomach by a Census worker’s dog.

Amy Schmalbach appears to have an amazing memory. When a Census worker came to her door on May 4th, she recognized him from a picture that she saw on the state’s sex offender registry. The man called himself “Jamie Shepard,” an alias for Frank J. Kuni. He is being held on charges of false representation and impersonating a public official. Census officials state that someone named Jamie Shepard did pass a name check but failed a fingerprint check so he was terminated after four days of training on May 5th. That appears one day after the incident.

For the full story, click here.

In the meantime, in St. Louis, a Census worker apparently took his Rottweiler to work with him. The dog proceeded to bite Dan Vacca in the stomach. For a video and story, click here. This incident is under investigation but there are no criminal charges filed in the case. There is likely to be a tort action, I would imagine. The interesting aspect is the liability of the employer since I assume workers are not supposed to bring animals unless they are service animals for disabilities. That would allow the Census officials to claim a “frolic or detour” of an employee — a difficult defense since he was acting within the scope of his employment. However, even if successful on respondeat superior, that would not negate direct negligence in supervision or hiring claims.