Labor Relations Specialist. 5). (Fleming Exhs. Accordingly, the Petition is denied. P.S. Docket No. AO 14-35 - About.usps.com In response, the Postal Services witness credibly testified that Mr. Rojewski in fact signed the forms in her presence (Tr. A witness from the Postal Services Accounting Service Center explained that that date reflects the day the document was most recently printed. Mr. Rojewski did, however, credibly testify that he worked on February 25, 2019, even though the Postal Services time records show him on annual leave that day (Tr. Now check your inbox and click Here, the Postal Service has proved through documentary evidence and witness testimony that Mr. Rojewski took the disputed annual leave, that he overdrew his annual leave, and that he did not earn enough annual leave to overcome the negative 52-hour balance by the time he separated from the Postal Service. The Postal Service assessed Mr. DePumpo with a debt for 104 hours of annual leave which he used, but did not earn. If you have genuinely tried to reach agreement with an employee, but agreement is not reached, you may direct the employee in writing to take one or more periods of paid annual leave, as long as: Get the latest employment law news, legal updates, case law and practical advice from our experts sent straight to your inbox every week. Provide a statement that, when resigning, the employee must reimburse the company for a negative time-off balance. (Tr. 5455). Thereafter, the Postal Service sent Ms. Amerson an invoice on February 26, 2003, notifying her that the Postal Service was seeking to collect $2,158.93. Each pay period that you earn annual leave, the advanced annual leave amount goes down by the exact number of annual leave hours that you actually earn. Finance - About.usps.com The Postal Service and the Treasury Department may collect $363.11 by administrative wage garnishment. The Postal Service claims that Ms. Griggs had a negative 32-hour annual leave balance, valued at $1,444.27, when she separated from the Postal Service in February 2020. Copyright 2023 United States Postal Service. If the employee has a minus balance and is separating, collection action must be initiated unless the indebtedness is waived by the Agency. Well, there is earned leave and the advanced leave. 2). Two hundred forty (240) hours (30 days) is the maximum amount of advanced sick leave a full-time employee may have to his or her credit at any one time. Mr. DePumpo provided evidence of his income and expenses and proposed a monthly payment amount of $100 (Tr. When you retired, your unused annual leave was projected forward and paid to you at the hourly rate if effect during that time. Transfer between positions (dual appointments between two Agencies) with different pay periods. Accordingly, the Petition is granted. That amount represents the remaining balance on an original debt assessment of $2,158.93. To recover in a salary overpayment case, the Postal Service must prove that it made the salary overpayments to Mr. DePumpo, the amount of those payments, and that Mr. DePumpo is not entitled to keep those payments. 11; Tr. 10615). If your annual leave taken shows up as a negative on your paystub but you still show that you have more annual leave available does that mean you have used some of the advanced annual leave? However, you dont get paid for any advanced annual leave when you retire or leave your job. When pressed during the hearing to cite specific examples to support this argument, Mr. Rojewski claimed he worked on June 1, 2019, but was not paid for that date. However, you dont get paid for any advanced annual leave when you retire or leave your job. Mr. Edwards raised several defenses to the debt assessment. Because the employee has taken more leave than he or she earned, the earned annual leave balance is negative. In the Matter of Administrative Wage Garnishment Petition, ROSEMARY AMERSON v. UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, APPEARANCE FOR PETITIONER: the employees remaining accrued entitlement to paid annual leave is not less than six weeks when any other paid leave arrangements are taken into account; you are not requiring the employee to take any period of paid annual leave of less than one week; and. Postmaster General & Executive Leadership Team. If you have questions, contact your immediate supervisor. Ask any general employment law question that you cant find an answer to in our handbook, and our experts we'll give you an answer. The Annual Leave Exchange Program provides an option for eligible career employees to receive a lump sum payment in exchange for a portion of the annual leave that would otherwise be advanced at the beginning of the 2013 leave year.American Postal Workers Union (APWU)-represented part-time flexible employees may exchange . 2526). B-46683, 24 Comp. a) $7.1 million See Split T&A for detailed information. Docket No. USPS News Link Working in a high-stress, fast-paced environment with no work-life balance can result in burnout, low productivity, and, ultimately, poor performance. The Postal Service is not barred from collecting the debt even though it accrued in 2014. The pay stub also shows that he used 144 hours of annual leave in 2013. During the time that she took annual leave in 2001, Ms. Marshall had an annual salary of $40,952 (Exhs. The Postal Service then sent Ms. Amerson three letters between November 2003 and January 2004 notifying her that it intended to refer the debt to the Treasury Department for collection. The question in this grievance is whether management violated Article 19 of the National Agreement by deducting 10 hours of annual leave from the grievant's leave balance because of accumulated LWOP during the last pay period in the calendar year. Nothing further happened until March 1, 2021, when the Treasury Department sent Ms. Amerson a Notice of Intent to Initiate Administrative Wage Garnishment Proceedings. Docket Nos. When Mr. Rojewski did that, his supervisor received an email notification of the leave, and then a leave slip (PS Form 3971) was generated. 2627). The lesser amount was presumably based on an amount calculated after deductions were taken for certain items like state and federal taxes. If your earned annual leave balance is negative, youll receive a bill for overdrawn leave, which means youve used more annual leave than youve earned. 3). February 27, 2014). USPS Position Letter: Article 19; Handbooks and Manuals (1983) Except for one day, this argument fails. Mr. DePumpo retired during this period of time (i.e., pay period 17-2013). A retiring-employee's negative annual leave balance equates to a salary overpayment, which in turn entitles the Postal Service to recover the monetary value of that annual leave under the Debt Collection Act. Copyright 2023 United States Postal Service. You are using an out of date browser. He faults the Postal Service for failing to explain why it waited from 2014 until 2021 to seek the remedy of wage garnishment. 3 at 7). To recover, the Postal Service must prove that it made the salary overpayments, the amount of the overpayments, and that the employee was not entitled to them. To collect a debt for a negative annual leave balance under the . 3 The Treasury Department also added a $17 collection fee to this amount. Employees featured in Heroes Corner also receive letters of commendation through the Postmaster General Heroes Program. As of that date, he had a negative 104-hour annual leave balance (Exh. Then every paycheck afterwards it deducts 4. It's uncommon outside of inefficient government clusterfucks to LOAN it out. Ms. Amerson did not respond to the Postal Service or file a petition with the Judicial Office challenging the debt. Additionally, CFCNCA Hero Awards were given to Capital District Diversity Coordinator Audrey Washington and Customer Support and Integration Manager Deborah Branagan Goldman. This number reflects the difference between the 96 hours Mr. DePumpo would have earned during the remainder of the year and the negative balance of 104 hours (Tr. c) Spooky Silhouettes 3 at 7). Department of Veterans Affairs VA HANDBOOK 5011/35 September 14, 2021 I therefore told him that he could supplement the record after the hearing with any evidence supporting that assertion. The record also establishes that he had a negative annual leave balance. The sick leave balance is the sick leave forwarded balance plus any accruals for the pay period. This results in a negative annual leave balance at retire-ment. Like most Postal Service employees, Mr. Rojewski could use his annual leave before it was earned. After recalculating the debt, related taxes, and treasury fees based on 44 hours of overdrawn annual leave, the Treasury Department, acting as the Postal Services collection agent, may collect the debt by administrative wage garnishment. For the reasons discussed below, the petition is denied. The pay stub for pay period 17-2013 shows a positive balance of 8 hours of annual leave (i.e., the balance does not have a negative sign in front of it or a parenthesis to indicate a negative balance). The Postal Service seeks to collect a debt from Zachary Rojewski by administrative wage garnishment through the Department of the Treasury. Probably what happened was your coworker had used enough LWOP somewhere previously that the LWOP equates to one or more pay periods not worked. Look for a new quiz next week and share your feedback with Link atuspslink@usps.gov. Postal Service is a Toxic Work Environment, Working For USPS May Be Dangerous To Your Health, USPS Delivery Failure Notification eMail Scam, Postal Service Health Benefits Mailer coming to your mailbox. After approval, select Advanced Sick Leave in the Advanced Leave field on the T&A header. It has proved both the existence and amount of the debt based on Mr. Edwardss negative annual leave balance as of July 2014. I granted the parties request to proceed on the written record without an oral hearing. Administrative Judge, Copyright 2023 United States Postal Service. He later received another invoice for $167.75 for the taxes paid on the disputed amount. applied to negative sick leave balances, then to negative annual leave balances, if any, and then to the terminal leave payment. 26, 53-54). If you have questions, contact your immediate supervisor. 3032). Here, the Postal Service has failed to meet that burden. (Petitioner Exh. Negative Annual leave paystub question | Rural Mail Talk When Ms. Amerson had still not repaid the debt, the Postal Service referred the debt to the Treasury Department for collection in March 2004 (Resp. ago. Chicago Acting Customer Services Supervisor Bryan Thompson. Which stamp release was not announced this week? Lvl 6/545 Queen St, Brisbane City QLD 4000 Australia. Earned A/L negative balance? That fee is not relevant to this dispute. 10 at 17). Copyright 2023 USPS. 1 The Postal Service advanced Mr. DePumpo 208 hours of annual leave at the beginning of the year. Rose Barner In the Matter of the Administrative Offset Petition, DAVID L. DEPUMPO v. UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, APPEARANCE FOR PETITIONER:David L. DePumpo, APPEARANCE FOR RESPONDENT:James M. GavnerLabor Relations SpecialistUnited States Postal Service. 88). Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser. For the reasons discussed below, the petition is denied. Although she worked for the labor union, she apparently had an option to return to employment with the Postal Service. That amount represents the remaining balance on an original debt assessment of $2,158.93. It said: "If you're planning to retire or leave USPS this year, the organization wants you to pay attention to your 'Earned Annual Leave Balance.' Remember: If the number goes negative, the Postal Service will The advanced leave code must be activated as long as the employees leave balance remains negative regardless of whether additional sick leave is used in the current pay period. This figure represents the sick leave hours available. As a result of the Supreme Court's decision, the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will now be able to extend certain benefits to Federal employees and annuitants who have legally married a spouse of the same sex, regardless of the employee's or annuitant's state of residency. USPS News Link - 3/14/19 - The Postal Service wants to ensure employees understand how advanced annual leave works. r/USPS - Annual Leave Question, Can someone explain why I have a This number reflects the difference between the 96 hours Mr. DePumpo would have earned during the remainder of the year and the negative balance of 104 hours (Tr. Mr. Edwards did not produce any documents or credible testimony to support this claim. The Answer did not include, or cite to, any documents supporting the existence or amount of the negative leave balance. To earn sick leave, the employee must be employed during that portion of the biweekly pay period that comprises his/her daily tour. Thus, in the absence of any further analysis explaining how his confusion should excuse the debt, this argument fails. The Treasury Department sought to collect $3,337.09 from Mr. Edwards based on the negative annual leave balance. After the Treasury Department added collection fees, the total amount of the debt now being sought is $3,337.09. Mr. Rojewski resigned from the Postal Service in September 2019 (Tr. How come on earned annual leave balance i have 0 then next paycheck it becomes -36 ? Emergency federal employee leave | USPS News Link Maximum Amount of Advanced Sick Leave. 6. accruals of annual and sick leave iii-56 7. other leave iii-60[a] 8. religious, state and local holidays iii-6[0c] 9. authorized absence iii-61 10. leave without pay (lwop) iii-65 11. leave without pay for family support purposes iii-67 12. unauthorized absence iii-68 13. disposition of leave on transfer, separation, or Got news? I think I could figure it out looking at several weeks of data but the question is for a Co worker. Exh. Youre only paid for the amount of leave that shows up in the Earned Annual Leave Balance field of your pay statement. there will be a five-day cap on negative leave except with the managing directors/head of HRs approval. Although it is possible to change your leave policies, it is best to do it in consultation with your employees. USPS: Advanced Annual Leave - 21st Century Postal Worker Each eligible employee earns 4 hours per pay period based on total time in pay status. clickondetroit. PDF Post-retirement debt collection Information security If a retired letter carrier receives a debt-collection notice from the Postal Service and can't verify the validity of the debt, he or she should immediately seek assistance from Mr. Rojewski did not, however, file any documents.. PDF Management Instruction EL-510-2019-6 - Annual Leave Sharing Program Statutory or regulatory restoration rights restored after service in the Armed Forces. If youre planning to retire or leave USPS this year, the organization wants you to pay attention to your Earned Annual Leave Balance. Remember: If the number goes negative, the Postal Service will mail you an invoice to pay back your overdrawn leave. In the Matter of the Administrative Offset PetitionWILLIAM H. FLEMING v. UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, APPEARANCE FOR PETITIONER:William H. Fleming, APPEARANCE FOR RESPONDENT:Joel L. BarnesLabor Relations Manager. The Postal Service has proved by a preponderance of the evidence that it paid Mr. Rojewski annual leave he did not earn, except for eight hours on February 25, 2019. (Resp. . A comparison of his used and earned annual leave shows that he had a negative 52-hour annual leave balance when he resigned (Resp. (Exh. Exh. 1 Mr. Fleming submitted several hundred documents with his Petition. ZACHARY ROJEWSKI v. UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, APPEARANCE FOR PETITIONER: Annual Leave Exchange Option. Exh. 17-19). The nomination form is available on Blue. Our customers are fortunate that USPS has employees like Dayton, OH, Letter Carrier Bryan Burton, the military-trained combat medic who aided a customer who was injured after suffering a seizure. USPS News Link 3/14/19 The Postal Service wants to ensure employees understand how advanced annual leave works. In accordance with that statute's plain text, we have consistently held that the government may pursue nontax debts under the Debt Collection Act regardless of the age of the debt. The only documents in the record directly related to Mr. Flemings annual leave balance are unsworn, unsigned, unexplained, after-the-fact letters, invoices, and summaries. Eligibility to earn sick leave is based on an employees type of appointment and type of employment. If the employee was not on the rolls in the previous pay period, enter. 3. Those letters specifically notified Ms. Amerson that the Treasury Department might add fees and charges to the principle amount of the debt. Copyright 2023 USPS. The debt was later referred to the Treasury Department. The USPS published a misleading News Link article on advance annual leave on March 14th. However, the payroll journal for pay period 17-2013 also shows a negative annual leave balance of 8 hours (Respondent Exh. That letter, citing the December 3, 2013 letter, denied Mr. Flemings request to reconsider the debt without further explanation. Gray v. United States Postal Service, AWG 21-367, 2022 WL 1487585 (April 7, 2022) (citing Joelanda Kelly v. United States Postal Service,DCA 19-203, 2020 WL 2198024 (April 29, 2020));Merritt W. Foster III, DCA 07-119, 2009 WL 10690542 (May 27, 2009). If your earned annual leave balance is negative, you'll receive a bill for "overdrawn leave," which means you've used more annual leave than you've earned. The Postal Service Annual Leave Sharing Program (LSP) allows career and transitional postal employees to share leave by donating or receiving .
Pslf Waiver Extension,
Natcon 2023 Los Angeles,
Led Display Board Bangalore,
Chicago Tennis Tournament 2023,
24350 Haynie Flat Road Spicewood, Tx 78669,
Articles N