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Letter from Greg Bell, APWU Industrial Relations Director to the U. S. Postal Service regarding “Medical Documentation or Other Acceptable Evidence for Absences of Three (3) Days or Less” 

The purpose of this letter is to determine if there is a disagreement between the parties regarding the conditions under which an employee may be required to submit medical documentation or other acceptable evidence for periods of absence of 3 days or less; particularly with regard to the Postal Service’s obligation to adhere to Article 10 of the National Agreement and applicable provisions/requirements of Subchapter 510 of the Employee and Labor Relations Manual before an employee can be required to submit medical documentation for 3 days or less.

It has been called to my attention that through the application of the RMD/eRMS, local management is improperly requiring employees to submit medical documentation or other acceptable evidence for future absences of 3 days or less, It is my understanding that based on a supervisor’s review of an employee’s attendance record, supervisors are making a determination that medical documentation is deem desirable (requiring an employee to submit medical documentation of other acceptable evidence) for absences of 3 days or less, for the protection of the interest of the Postal Service. As you know, it is improper for management to deem documentation desirable for 3 days or less based on a review of an employee attendance record.

Moreover, in the absence of an employee being on restricted sick leave, supervisors may not require medical documentation or other acceptable evidence because of abuse or excessive use of sick leave for 3 days or less. (more…)

Siemens announced today that it has been awarded a $54.6 million contract modification from the United States Postal Service (USPS) for additional mail sorting equipment.

The award encompasses an additional 110 Delivery Bar Code Sorter (DBCS 6) machines to expand USPS’ existing fleet of letter sorting equipment. Siemens will provide installation and associated integrated logistics support services for the new machines in addition to carts used to transport trays of sorted mail. Production and installation of the DBCS 6 order is expected to be completed by April 31, 2008. This is the second order for the DBCS 6. In November 2006, Siemens was awarded a $109.4 million contract for 211 of those machines.

The DBCS is the most widely deployed mail-processing platform for letters within the Postal Service with more than 6,000 machines operating nationwide. Almost every letter will pass through these machines several times as it makes its way through the postal network. The need for additional equipment is driven by the 2 million delivery points, comprising U.S. households and businesses that the Postal Service will be adding to its service over the next year.

“The DBCS continues to be essential to Postal Service operations,” said Lukas Loeffler, vice president, Postal Automation of Siemens in the U.S. “We work closely with the USPS to adapt the machine to changes in the mail base and to greater productivity requirements.”

source: Siemens

USPS Only Federal Agency on Hispanic Business’ DIVERSITY ELITE 60 List

Hispanic Business magazine named the U.S. Postal Service one of the best companies for Hispanics. The Postal Service is the only federal agency included in the magazine’s DIVERSITY ELITE 60 list, an annual directory of the best companies for Hispanics determined by more than 30 variables that measure companies’ commitment to Hispanic hiring, promotion, marketing, philanthropy and supplier diversity.

In an article that accompanies the ranking in the September issue, Hispanic Business notes that the Postal Service is not only delivering the nation’s mail, “but also a commitment to diversity within the huge organization, with suppliers and throughout the communities it serves.”

“We see ourselves as a microcosm of America,” said Anthony Vegliante in the article. Vegliante, chief human resources officer and executive vice president for the Postal Service, says the agency’s talent acquisition and retention strategy reflects continually changing demographics and targets all Postal Service positions, including its many corporate positions in engineering, legal, financial and other professional fields.

The Postal Service is committed to fostering a business culture that provides an inclusive work environment for all employees. The diversity of its employees, their backgrounds, education, perspectives, talents, and skills, is key to the organization’s success in providing excellent customer service to diverse markets.

source: USPS

Officials at United Parcel Service Inc., Atlanta, and Teamsters Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund, Rosemont, Ill., reached an agreement on the company’s potential withdrawal from the $20.7 billion fund, according to a letter the Washington-based International Brotherhood of Teamsters sent to local union offices

In May, the Teamsters issued a statement revealing a proposal by UPS and the Teamsters to create a joint UPS-Teamster pension plan “to cover full-time UPS employees who currently obtain their pension benefits from” the multiemployer Central States fund. The proposed plan would cover only UPS employees. It would be jointly administered by UPS and the Teamsters, that statement said. UPS would pay withdrawal liability that would have to be determined to leave the Central States fund, the statement said.

Pension and Investments

An estimated 100,000 to 300,000 current and former reservists employed as federal government civilians may be able to recoup money for leave days that were improperly charged to them dating back to 1980.

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 28 that Jose Hernandez, a retired Air Force civilian aircraft mechanic, was entitled to be considered for reimbursement for leave that was charged to him from 1980 to 2001, and sent his case back to the federal Merit Systems Protection Board for reconsideration “This is the largest victory for federal employees in the history of the federal civil service system,” said Hernandez’s attorney, Mathew Tully, who practices in Albany, N.Y. Tully, who has represented reservists in thousands of similar cases, said he estimates from 100,000 to 300,000 people could be eligible to receive refunds ranging from $1,500 to $3,000.

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, in its decision Tuesday, ruled that the federal Merit Systems Protection Board does have the authority to consider cases that pre-date USERRA, and that the department’s practice of charging military leave also violated the law before USERRA.

Tully said the reimbursements could eventually apply to leave improperly charged before 1980. “We’re litigating a case now that’s from 1972 to 1992. We’re going to push the envelope,” he said.  Full story: Federal Times

According to Tully, current federal employees will be compensated with either military or annual leave, with cash payments only in very rare circumstances. Generally, only retired or former federal employees will be compensated with cash, he said.

Archive: Postal Employee Challenges USPS Over Military Leave

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