Overtime

Question: Can casuals or part-time flexibles be assigned overtime (i.e., be utilized in an overtime status) prior to assigning overtime to available full-time regulars on the "Overtime Desired List (OTDL)"?

Answer: No. The provisions of Article 8.5C of the Agreement require that employees on the OTDL shall be selected first.

Question: Can management require mail handlers not on the OTDL to work overtime when mail handlers on the OTDL have not been required to work 12 hours?

Answer: All mail handlers on the OTDL should be required to work up to 12 hours prior to requiring employees not on the OTDL. However, if the OTDL does not provide a sufficient number of employees, other employees may be assigned as needed. For example, if 10 employees are needed to work 2 hours overtime and only 8 mail handlers from the OTDL are available, management may require 2 non-OTDL employees to work overtime.

Question: Can full-time regular employees not on the OTDL be required to work overtime prior to casuals or part-time flexibles?

Answer: The provisions of Article 8.5D of the Agreement provide that if the OTDL does not provide sufficient people, management shall assign other employees as needed. The parties have agreed that every effort should be made to schedule part-time flexibles and casuals for such overtime prior to scheduling regulars not on the OTDL.

Question: Does the rotation of mail handlers not on the OTDL continue from quarter to quarter?

Answer: No. The rotation of regular non-OTDL employees renews each quarter just as does the OTDL.

Question: Is a mail handler acting as a supervisor (204B) eligible to work overtime?

Answer: An acting supervisor is ineligible for overtime at the beginning or end of their tour on any day during the term of their detail, unless all available OTDL employees have been scheduled and the 204B employee is on the OTDL. If the 204B employee is not on the OTDL, he/she would be required to work under the provisions of Article 8.5D if reached in the juniority rotation.

If an employees detailed to a 204B assignment continues as a 204B into the next service week following termination of their present 204B assignment, he/she would be ineligible to work his/her non-scheduled day unless all OTDL employees are utilized.

Question: When employees are directed by management to receive medical treatment and it extends their regular 8 hour tour, is management required to pay overtime?

Answer: If an employee would have otherwise worked overtime, all time spent waiting for and/or receiving medical treatment on the service day on which the illness or injury occurs would be credited as time worked even though overtime is involved.

Question: If management decides to allow employees on the OTDL to work beyond 12 hours in a day, how are employees selected for the additional overtime?

Answer: While the scheduling of overtime beyond 12 hours is at the discretion of management, employees should be selected in accordance with the seniority rotation principles outlined in Article 8.5C of the Agreement.

Question: May employees on the OTDL be required to work their non-scheduled days if they are on annual leave immediately preceding or following their off days?

Answer: They may not be required to work; however, they may advise their supervisor in writing of their availability for such overtime.

Question: May employees be required to complete a Form 3971 to be excused from overtime?

Answer: Employees may be required to complete a 3971 for record keeping purposes.

Question: May employees remove their names from the OTDL during the course of the quarter?

Answer: Employees may remove their names from the OTDL by making a written request prior to the employee being scheduled.

Article 8, Section 5D

Question: What is the "Full-Time Volunteer" list?

Answer: This new list was included in the contract to identify full-time regular mail handlers who are not on the "Overtime Desired" list (OTDL), but who nonetheless want to work overtime after their scheduled tour on a given day. Such employees may sign the "Full-Time Volunteer" list to indicate their willingness to work overtime after their scheduled tour.

Question: What is the purpose of the "Full-Time Volunteer" list?

Answer: Stated simply, the list will give employees who want to work occasional overtime the opportunity to do so, while at the same time the list will eliminate some forced overtime for employees who do not want it.

Question: When does the "Full-Time Volunteer" list come into play?

Answer: The "Full-Time Volunteer" list comes into play after the OTDL is exhausted, but before any employees are forced to work overtime. It was agreed between the parties during national negotiations that local practices in implementing the OTDL would not be changed by the creation of the "Full-Time Volunteer" list. Thus, if employees are not forced to work overtime under a local memorandum of understanding or a pre-existing local practice until multiple "Overtime Desired" lists are exhausted, those multiple lists must continue to be exhausted before management assigns work to employees who are listed on the "Full-Time Volunteer" list.

Question: May an employee who signs the daily "Full-Time Volunteer" list refuse to work overtime in a particular section?

Answer: No. The daily volunteer must work where assigned, although the exceptions outlined in Article 8, Section 5E continue to apply.

Question: How are employees selected from the "Full-Time Volunteer" list?

Answer: In order of seniority, without any rotation.

Question: Was inclusion of the "Full-Time Volunteer" list in the National Agreement meant to change local agreements or practices concerning voluntary overtime lists?

Answer: No. The intent of the provision was to expand the use of voluntary overtime lists. If your local memorandum of understanding or pre-existing local practices already provided for the use of voluntary overtime beyond the OTDL, there is no need to change your local practices, unless the new contract provision would expand those voluntary overtime opportunities even further.

Question: After the OTDL and the "Full-Time Volunteer" list are exhausted, are there any restrictions applied when management is forcing employees to work involuntary overtime?

Answer: Yes, the Postal Service has agreed that, to the extent practicable, an effort will be made to schedule available and qualified part-time flexibles and casuals for overtime work prior to requiring full-time employees not on the OTDL and not on the "Full-Time Volunteer" list to work overtime. Moreover, if full-time employees are forced to work overtime, it shall be on a rotating basis in inverse order of seniority.

Supervisors Performing Bargaining Unit Work

Question: Under what circumstances may a supervisor perform bargaining unit work?

Answer: Under Article 1, Section 1.6 of the National Agreement, supervisors are prohibited from performing bargaining unit work except in certain narrow circumstances. In post offices with 100 or more bargaining unit employees, these exceptions provide that supervisors may perform such work only (1) in an "emergency"; (2) for the purpose of training or instruction of employees; (3) to assure the proper operation of equipment; (4) to protect the safety of employees; or (5) to protect the property of the USPS. In post offices with less than 100 bargaining unit employees, the same exceptions apply; in addition, supervisors in these smaller offices may perform bargaining unit work when the duties are included in the supervisor's position description.

Question: How is an "emergency" defined for purposes of Section 1.6A1?

Answer: Under the explicit terms of the National Agreement, an emergency is "an unforeseen circumstance or a combination of circumstances which calls for immediate action in a situation which is not expected to be of a recurring nature."

Question: Is there a monetary remedy for violation of these contractual provisions?

Answer: Yes. A Memorandum of Understanding between the NPMHU and the USPS, reprinted at pages 115 and 116 of the 1990 National Agreement, provides that where additional work hours would have been assigned to a mail handler but for a violation of Section 1.6, and where such work hours are not de minimus, the employee or employees whom management would have assigned to the work shall be paid for the time involved at the applicable rate.

Question: May an employee acting as a supervisor (on a 204B assignment) perform bargaining unit work?

Answer: No. An employee serving as a temporary supervisor is prohibited from performing bargaining unit work except to the extent provided by the exceptions in Section 1.6. For these purposes, the determination whether an employee is in a 204B status is controlled by Form 1723, which shows the times and dates of a 204B detail.

Question: May management terminate a 204B detail prematurely, thereby allowing the temporary supervisor to perform bargaining unit work?

Answer: Generally yes. Management may prematurely terminate a 204B detail by furnishing an amended Form 1723 to the appropriate union representative. In such cases, the amended Form 1723 should be provided in advance, if the union representative is available. If not available, the union representative should be provided with the amended Form 1723 as soon as practical after he or she becomes available.

Incumbency Rights

Question: If I am a Level-4 mail handler who has been driving a motor-tug (jitney) or performing another ranked higher level position for over a year, and management has posted a bid for the job, am I entitled to the bid because I'm the incumbent?

Answer: No. In the circumstances posited, management has created a new position, and they have properly posted the position for installation-wide bid. Article 12, Section 12.3B3 states:

B3 All vacant or newly established craft duty assignments shall be posted for employees eligible to bid within 10 days after a determination has been made that the position is not to be reverted.

A different situation is covered by Article 12, Section 12.2I, which provides as follows:

I1 When an occupied level 4 or 5 position is upgraded on the basis of the present duties:

I1a The incumbent will remain in the upgraded job provided that the incumbent has been in that job for more than one year.

I1b The job will be posted for bid in accordance with the Agreement if the incumbent has not been in the job more than one year.

I2 When an occupied level 4 or 5 position is upgraded on the basis of duties, which are added to the position:

I2a The incumbent will remain in the upgraded job provided the incumbent has been in that job for more than one year. The year of the required incumbency in the job begins when the employee first begins working the assignment.

As you can see, incumbency only applies when the present duties have been upgraded or duties added to an occupied position. In the situation presented by the question, the mail handler has been receiving higher level pay for performing the duties of a ranked higher level function. Management has now decided to create a bid position, presumably based on the needs of the facility, and therefore incumbency rights do not apply.

SICK LEAVE

Question: What contractual and manual provisions govern sick leave?

Answer: In general terms, sick leave is governed by Section 10.6 of the National Agreement, as supplemented by certain Memoranda of Understanding and Section 513 of the Employee and Labor Relations Manual.

Question: What is sick leave?

Answer: Sick leave is paid leave that may be used by an employee who is unable to work because of illness, injury, pregnancy and confinement, or medical (including dental or optical) examination or medical treatment. Sick leave also is currently available in case of exposure to, or need to care for, a family member with a contagious disease that requires isolation, quarantine, or restriction on movement of the patient for a particular period, consistent with rulings by the health authorities having jurisdiction

Question: At what rate is sick leave accrued?

Answer: Full-time employees earn 4 hours of sick leave for each full biweekly pay period, or 13 days of sick leave per year. Part-time employees each 1 hour of sick leave for each 20 hours that they are in a pay status, up to a maximum of 13 days per year. There is no cap or maximum on the amount of sick leave that can be accumulated.

Question: How is sick leave authorized?

Answer: Except for unexpected illness or injury, sick leave should be requested on a Form 3971 and approved in advance by the appropriate supervisor. For unexpected illness or injury, employees must notify the Postal Service as soon as possible about their illness or injury, and then must submit a Form 3971 upon their return to work.

Question: What are the particular documentation requirements that govern the use of sick leave?

Answer: For periods of absence of 3 days or less, supervisors may accept an employee's own statement of reasons to justify the use of sick leave. Documentation in these circumstances should be required only when the employee is on restricted sick leave or the supervisor can demonstrate other reasons for requiring the employee to document his or her illness.

For periods of absence of more than 3 days, an employee is required to submit medical documentation or other acceptable evidence to support approval of the leave request. Supervisors may accept proof other than medical documentation if they deem it sufficient to support approval of the sick leave application.

Question: What is the Postal Service policy on getting an advance of sick leave?

Answer: Generally, sick leave is credited to an employee when it is earned. However, sick leave not to exceed 30 days may be advanced to an employee, whether or not the employee has earned but unused annual leave, in cases of serious injury or disability if there is reason to believe that the employee will return to work. The application for advance sick leave requires medical documentation and approval of the installation head on Form 1221.

In addition, the National Agreement makes clear that, when sick leave is approved but the employee does not have sufficient sick leave to cover the absence, then the difference is charged to annual leave or to LWOP, at the option of the employee. On a related subject, the National Agreement also provides that an employee who becomes ill while on annual leave may request to have their leave charged to sick leave for the period of their illness.

Question: Must sick leave be exhausted prior to requesting leave without pay?

Answer: No, see the Memorandum of Understanding governing LWOP in Lieu of SL/AL, which appears in the back of the National Agreement.

Question: What happens to unused sick leave upon retirement?

Answer: For employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), retirees may receive service credit for unused sick leave, at the rate of 1 day of retirement credit for each 8 hours of sick leave based on a 260-day work year. No credit for sick leave is given to employees covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), unless they transferred to FERS from CSRS, in which case they may be eligible for credit for their sick leave. Finally, employees who are retired on a disability or are otherwise separated because of a physical or mental disability may exhaust all of their earned sick leave.

The Supreme Court's 1975 decision in the case of NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc. gave employees the right to union representation during any investigatory interview that they reasonably believe might lead to disciplinary action. This includes any time you are being asked questions by your immediate supervisor, a general supervisor, or even the safety officer. It also includes any interview conducted by the Postal Inspection Service.

These rights are called WEINGARTEN rights. They arise under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, and are independent of any rights that you have as a mail handler under the National Agreement. They also are different than the rights that you have under the Supreme Court's earlier decision in Miranda.

The difference between WEINGARTEN rights and Miranda rights is twofold. First, Miranda rights apply when there is a criminal charge. They protect your right not to incriminate yourself. WEINGARTEN rights exist not so much to prevent self-incrimination, but to allow the union to represent an employee in any decision or procedure that might impact on his or her terms of employment. Second, a law officer is obligated to inform you of your Miranda rights. No one has to inform you of your WEINGARTEN rights. YOU HAVE TO ASSERT THEM.

You must request that the supervisor, investigator or other management representative provide you with union representation. (It is best if you can assert your WEINGARTEN rights in front of witnesses - i.e., on the workfloor prior to being taken to the site of the interview.) However, you can assert your right to a union representative at any time - even once the interview has begun.

If you do not STATE THAT YOU WANT A UNION REPRESENTATIVE, the interview can proceed without a representative present. Remember, the union cannot exercise Weingarten rights on your behalf, and management is not required to inform you about your Weingarten rights. On the other hand, once you ask for representation, the person interviewing you (the supervisor, inspector, or whoever) has three options:

1. Grant the request;

2. Discontinue the interview; or

3. Offer the employee the choice between continuing the interview unaccompanied or having no interview at all.

Unless you voluntarily agree to continue without representation, the interview cannot legally go on.

If your request for a steward is granted, the interview can continue. This does not mean that you have to sign a Waiver of Rights, including your right to remain silent if you are being charged with a crime. WEINGARTEN means that you have the right to pre-interview consultation and the right to make requests of the union representative for clarification or information during the interview. Postal inspectors are not obligated to bargain with or discuss the issues with your representative. However, if your WEINGARTEN rights are asserted and not met, no information from the interview can be used as the basis of disciplinary action. The Postal Inspection Service is well aware of your rights. Once you have asked for a steward, they generally comply.

Remember, if you are being charged with a crime which also may relate to possible adverse action from your employer, you have the right to be informed about your Miranda rights and you have the right to request union representation by asserting your rights under WEINGARTEN. Just because your Miranda rights are read to you does not release the interviewer from the obligation to get you a steward if you request one.

These are your LEGAL RIGHTS. Availing yourself of them does not imply guilt! These rights exist to protect the innocent. Use them. Do not be intimidated. Do not think that you have nothing to fear if you are not guilty. Words can be twisted. If someone tells you to go for an interview (about any job-related matter) or to report to the Inspection Service (for any reason), the first words out of your mouth should be, "I want my shop steward present."