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(posted 6/4/04)
12/60 Work Limitations and the
Appropriate Remedy for Exceeding the Ceiling As management
continues to right size our work force we will see an increase in
overtime hours to cover the shortage in the workforce. Along with this
increase of overtime come increasing attempts by management to deny the
Bargaining Unit of its rights. Article 8 overtime provisions of the
Collective Bargaining Agreement has been arbitrated and been put to
rest, I thought… I see some of the same issues that we fought hard and
long for resurfacing. The question
of working over 60 hours within a service week continues to surface even
after being settled 16 years ago. The issue of 12/60 work hour
limitations and the appropriate remedy when management allows you to
work beyond the daily/weekly work limitation has been a problem since
the 1988 settlement. A brief
history of this 12-hour daily 60-hour weekly limitation would be in
order. The issue was arbitrated before Arbitrator Richard Mittenthal
back in 1986 and 1987. Several questions were presented to him for
interpretation.
Whether a violation of
article 8, section 5G2, i.e., working an employee more than 12 hours in
a day or 60 hours in a service week, justifies a remedy apart from
beyond the penalty overtime pay provided by article 8, section 4C and D?
If so what would be the remedy? Mittenthal
ruled in part that Article 8, Section 5G2 does establish an absolute bar
against employees working more than 60 hours in a service week. The pay
question was remanded back to the parties for further consideration.
Whether an employee
sent home in the middle of his tour on a regularly scheduled day,
because of the bar against employees working more than 60 hours in a
service week, is entitled to be paid? He
additionally ruled that an employee having been sent home on his
regularly scheduled day before the end of his tour on account of the 60-
hour ceiling and having experienced no temporary change of schedule,
must be paid for the hours he lost that day. Whether
management may ignore the pecking order in a holiday period
scheduling, as established by article 11 section 6B or a local
Memorandum of understanding in order to avoid payment of penalty
overtime pay under article 8? Management may
not ignore the “pecking order” in a holiday period scheduling under
Article 11, Section 6 in order to avoid penalty overtime pay under
Article 8. Management may
not treat regular volunteers for holiday period work as having
volunteered for up to 12 hours on whatever day(s) they are asked to work.
He also
remanded the remedy back to the parties in this grievance. As a result
of Arbitrator Mittenthal’s decisions to remand the remedies back to the
parties the following memorandum came into existence. The United
States Postal Service, NALC and the APWU agreed to compensate the
aggrieved employees an additional 50 percent premium of the base hourly
straight time rate for those limited instances when employees are
permitted to work beyond the 12/60 limitation.
Memorandum of Understanding
Between
The United States Postal Service
And
The American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO
And
The National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO
The United States Postal Service, the American Postal Workers Union,
AFL-CIO, and the National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO,
hereby agree to resolve the following issues, which remain in dispute
and arise from the application of the overtime and holiday provisions of
Articles 8 and 11 of the 1984 and 1987 National Agreements. The parties
agree further to remand those grievances which were timely filed and
which involve the issues set forth herein for resolution in accordance
with the terms of this Memorandum of Understanding. 12 Hours
In A Work Day and 60 Hours In a Service Week Restrictions The parties
agree that with the exception of December, full-time employees are
prohibited from working more than 12 hours in a single workday or 60
hours within a service week. In
those limited instances where this provision is or has been violated and
a timely grievance filed, full-time employees will be compensated at an
additional premium of 50 percent of the base hourly straight time rate
for those hours worked beyond the 12 or 60-hour limitation.
The employment of this remedy shall not be construed as an agreement by
the parties that the Employer may exceed the 12 and 60-hour limitation
with impunity. As a means of
facilitating the foregoing, the parties agree that excluding December,
once a full-time employee reaches 20 hours of overtime within a service
week, the employee is no longer available for any additional overtime
work. Furthermore, the employee’s tour of duty shall be terminated once
he or she reaches the 60th hour of work, in accordance with Arbitrator
Mittenthal’s National Level Arbitration Award on this issue, dated
September 11, 1987, in case numbers H4N-NA-C 21 (3rd issue) and H4C-NA-C
27. Holiday Work The parties
agree that the Employer may not refuse to comply with the holiday
scheduling “pecking order” provisions of Article 11, Section 6 or the
provisions of a Local Memorandum of Understanding in order to avoid
payment of penalty overtime. The parties
further agree to remedy past and future violations of the above
understanding as follows:
1.
Full-time employees and part-time regular employees who file a
timely grievance because they were improperly assigned to work their
holiday or designated holiday will be compensated at an additional
premium of 50 percent of the base hourly straight time rate.
2.
For each full-time employee or part-time regular employee
improperly assigned to work a holiday or designated holiday, the
Employer will compensate the employee who should have worked but was not
permitted to do so, pursuant to the provisions of Article 11, Section 6,
or pursuant to a Local Memorandum of Understanding at the rate of pay
the employee would have earned had he or she worked on that holiday. The above
settles the holiday remedy question, which was remanded to the parties
by Arbitrator Mittenthal in his January 19, 1987 decision in H4N-NA-C 21
and H4N-NA-C 24. As with every
agreement the parties enter into with the Postal Service, it never seems
to put the issue to rest. Additional disputes are always guaranteed to
surface. The following
information is from the New York Metro USPS/APWU Joint Contract
Application Manual. This manual may not be applicable for your area but
the references and resources sure are. This information is only provided
to assist you in protecting your rights
Questions and Answers
QUESTION: If management violates the 12-hour or 60-hour
restriction, what is the remedy for said violation?
Response: In instances where this provision is or has been
violated and a timely grievance is filed, the full-time employee(s) will
be compensated at an additional premium of 50 percent of the base hourly
straight time rate for those hours worked beyond the 12 or 60 hour
limitation.
Source: MOU between USPS, NALC and the APWU, October 19, 1988.
National Arbitration Award, H4M-NA-C 21 and H4C-NA-C 27, Mittenthal,
fourth issue), A90N-4A-C 94042668, Snow
QUESTION: After a full time employee reaches 20 hours of
overtime within a service week is he/she still available for overtime?
Response: No. Once the employee reaches 20 hours of overtime
within a service week, the employee is no longer available for any
additional overtime work.
Source: MOU between USPS, NALC and APWU, October 19, 1988.
QUESTION:
What is management’s obligation when an employee reaches the 60th hour
of work? Response:
The employee’s tour of duty shall be terminated once he/she reaches the
60th hour of work. Source:
MOU between USPS, NALC and the APWU, October 19, 1988. National
Arbitration Award, H4M-NA-C 21 and H4C-NA-C 27.
QUESTION:
Does paid leave count toward the 12 and 60 work limits? Response:
Yes Source: ELM 434
QUESTION:
Is an employee who is sent home in the middle of the tour on a regularly
schedule day, because of the bar against employees working more than 60
hours in a service week, entitled to be paid for the remainder of his
scheduled day? Response:
Yes, an employee having been sent home on his regularly scheduled day
before the end of his tour due to the 60-hour ceiling and having
experience no temporary change of schedule, must be compensated for the
hours he lost that day. Source:
National Arbitration Award, September 11, 1987, Arbitrator Mittenthal
H4M-NA-C 21 and H4C-NA-C 27.
QUESTION:
Does “Holiday Work Pay” count towards the 56 and 60 hour work limits? Response:
No. “Holiday Work Pay” is a premium paid to eligible employees for hours
worked on a holiday. However, since employees are given credit for paid
leave on a holiday, the holiday leave time would count toward the 56
and 60 hour limits. Source:
ELM 434 As clear as
the language and the arbitrations cited may seem, we still continue to
see violations of the 12/60 limits. If you work beyond the 12/60
limitations you MUST file a grievance for the additional 50 percent
premium. You are still entitled to the premium even if you take paid
leave during the time frame. If you need additional information or
copies of the arbitration awards or the memorandum of understanding
please contact me. This information is only provided to assist you,
contact your local union representative to see if your rights have been
violated. Yours in education, Bill Lewis Related
Links:
ELM 434 Overtime and Premium Pay
Annual Leave in
Lieu of Holiday Pay
APWU/USPS Questions &
Answers Overtime Article Eight