USPS Files Final Rule On Changes To Regulations For Post Office Closings And Staffing
From the National League of Postmasters:
Postal Service files for final rule with regard to 39 CFR Part 241
On Wednesday, October 26 the Postal Service filed a final rule with the Federal Register amending regulations with regard to Post Office closings. This final rule adopts changes to the staffing of Post Offices and to the definition of “consolidation”. The proposed changes would be effective December 1, 2011.
This is a very serious amendment to regulations impacting Postmasters and Post Offices. The LEAGUE and NAPUS has been in contact with our legal counsel and they are reviewing the proposed change. We will be discussing all options available to us. As more information becomes available we will bring you up to date.
The following is the history of the proposed rules changes.
April 28, 2011 – the two organizations sent a letter to the PRC expressing our views on the proposed changes along with a legal opinion letter from Hal Hughes former General Counsel to the Postal Service…
May 23, 2011 – the LEAGUE and NAPUS two retired Postmasters filed a formal complaint before the Postal Regulatory Commission PRC…
July 14, 2011 – Post Office issues Publication on Final Rule on Retail Discontinuance Actions…
source: National League of Postmasters ..
USPS Final Rule on Post Office Closings
USPS proposes to modify Express Mail waiver of signature procedures
USPS notice in the Federal Register:
The USPS proposes to align the refund policy for domestic Express Mail with the industry standard for overnight products by requiring all claims for postage refunds to be filed within 30 days of the date of mailing instead of the current filing timeline of 90 days.
Additionally, the USPS proposes to make the following change in conjunction with the implementation of the redesigned Express Mail Label 11-B and Label 11-F, Express Mail Post Office to Addressee.
The Postal Service proposes to modify Express Mail Label 11-B and Label 11-F, by eliminating the “waiver of signature” check box. A mailer sending an Express Mail item, and requiring an addressee’s signature, must select the new “signature required” box on the new Express Mail label dated January 2012. If the box is not selected, the Postal Service will not obtain a signature from the addressee upon delivery of Express Mail Next Day Delivery and Express Mail Second Day Delivery items. Instead, the carrier will scan the barcode and leave the item in the customer’s mail receptacle or other secure location to indicate delivery.
Express Mail Hold For Pickup service always requires the signature of the addressee or addressee’s agent. Therefore, the Express Mail Label 11-HFPU, Express Mail Hold For Pickup, will not be revised.Show citation box
Although we are exempt from the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act [5 U.S.C of 553(b), (c)] regarding proposed rulemaking by 39 U.S.C. 410(a), we invite public comments on the following proposed revisions to Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations. See 39 CFR 111.1. Read more
Carry the Rally Cry and protest PMG’s proposed changes to service standards
Filed under: APWU, Federal Register, mail delivery, politics, postal, postal news, usps
The following alert was released by Omar M. Gonzalez, APWU Western Region Coordinator:
FIGHT THE PMG’S QUEST TO UNDERMINE SERVICE TODAY!
The Postmaster General’s dastardly plan to close mail processing plants and postal facilities REQUIRES him to change service standards.
Management is “selling” these proposed changes as a good thing. But the documentation required and posted in the Federal Register clearly reveals the impact: [Federal Registry/Vol 76. No. 183 ] Read more
USPS Proposal to Revise Service Standards for First-Class Mail, Periodicals and Standard Mail
The Postal Service seeks public comment on a proposal to revise the service standard regulations contained in 39 CFR Part 121. Among other things, the proposal involves eliminating the expectation of overnight service for First-Class Mail and Periodicals, and, for each of these classes, narrowing the two-day delivery range and enlarging the three-day delivery range. One major effect of the proposal would be to facilitate a significant consolidation of the Postal Service’s processing and transportation networks. Read more
USPS Revises Group E (free) PO Box service Regulations
The USPS revised its regulations for free Group E PO Box service today, adding new restrictions on who is eligible.
“Group E PO Box service is provided free, with restrictions, to customers whose physical addresses are not eligible for any form of USPS carrier delivery service. This service is consistent with the USPS responsibility to provide universal mail delivery. This final rule simplifies and clarifies some of the language related to administering Group E PO Box service.”
USPS To Issue Final Rule On Changes To Procedures in Closing Post Offices
Filed under: post office closings, post offices, postal, postal news, press releases, usps
Postal Service Statement:Publication of Final Rule on Retail Discontinuance Actions
The Postal Service will publish a final rule in tomorrow’s Federal Register that revises the procedures for discontinuance of Postal Service-operated retail outlets. These regulations enhance transparency and public participation, increase the efficiency of the discontinuance process, and ensure sound business judgment in decisions for the Postal Service’s retail operations. The revised procedures include the following features: Read more
Editorial: Postal Service Keeps Employees Disciplinary Records Forever
Stamps are not the only item USPS considers “Forever”
The following is an editorial by Don Cheney:
USPS Labor Relations keeps a reference copy of an employee’s disciplinary action for the employee’s entire career. Don’t believe it? THEY DO. See the USPS Privacy Act Notice of June 17, 2011 at http://federalregister.gov/a/2011-15038.
Labor Relation’s reference copies are never purged regardless of the disposition of the discipline. Keeping disciplinary records forever is legal under the collective bargaining agreements as long as they are “not considered” in subsequent disciplinary actions. The APWU challenged this nefarious practice and lost.
Postal employees need to keep the disposition of discipline they have received forever, because Labor Relations is not obligated to do so and often doesn’t. I have seen ancient disciplinary actions that were supposedly reduced or expunged surface more than a decade later. Typically, it is to refute a claim made by the employee like, “I’ve never been disciplined for such and such.”
USPS 100.000
System Name: General Personnel Records.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
4. REFERENCE COPIES OF ALL DISCIPLINE OR ADVERSE ACTIONS: Letters of warning; notices of removal, suspension and/or reduction in grade or pay; letters of decisions; and documents relating to these actions. These are used only to refute inaccurate statements by witnesses before a judicial or administrative body. They may not be maintained in the employee’s OPF or eOPF but must be maintained in a separate file by Labor Relations.
http://www.federalregister.gov/a/2011-15038/p-33
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
3. REFERENCE COPIES OF DISCIPLINE OR ADVERSE ACTIONS. These records are kept for historical purposes and are not to be used for decisions about the employee. The retention of these records may not exceed 10 years beyond the employee’s separation date. The records are maintained longer if the employee is rehired during the 10-year period. They may not be maintained in the employee’s OPF or eOPF, but must be maintained in a separate file by Labor Relations.
http://www.federalregister.gov/a/2011-15038/p-45
In the days of paper records and locked filing cabinets, Labor Relations kept disciplinary records for only seven years. Paper files were hard to search. Today, computers have memories like elephants. Do you agree with this statement? “The Postal Service does not expect this amended notice to have any adverse effect on individual privacy rights.”
Don Cheney
Auburn WA
USPS offers New Adult Signature Service
The Postal Service is revising the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 503.8, to add a new extra service called Adult Signature. This new service has two available options: Adult Signature Required and Adult Signature Restricted Delivery. Read more
New Regulations On ADA Amendments Act of 2008 Broadens Definition Of Disability
On March 25, 2011, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new regulations governing the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA). The regulations greatly broaden the definition of “disability” under the ADAAA, making clear that to “substantially” limit a major life activity, an impairment need not be “significantly” or “severely” limiting, as was previously established by Supreme Court precedent. Among other things, the list of impairments has been expanded to best define what it means to be disabled. Conditions covered include autism, cancer, cerebral palsy, diabetes, epilepsy, HIV infection, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and schizophrenia. Employers now have fewer than 60 days until the new regulations become effective on May 24, 2011. . Read more
USPS Proposed Rule To Amend Regulations for Post Office Closing-Consolidating Process
Filed under: consolidations, post office closings, post offices, postal, postal news, usps
The following is USPS Proposed Rule To Amend Regulations for Closing/Consolidating Post Offices scheduled to be published in Federal Register March 31, 2011.
A few highlights:
This proposed rule would amend postal regulations to improve the administration of the Post Office closing and consolidation process. In addition, certain procedures employed for the discontinuance of Post Offices would be applied to the discontinuance of other types of retail facilities operated by Postal Service employees.
In keeping with the policy change concerning the scope of discontinuance procedures, the proposed rule would replace all references to “post office” in 39 CFR 241.3 with “USPS-operated retail facility” (or a similar term). A new subparagraph (a)(1)(ii) would be added to define “USPS-operated retail facility” as any Post Office, station, or branch that is operated by Postal Service employees, rather than by contractor personnel. Subparagraph (a)(1)(ii) would also define “contractor-operated retail facility” as any community post office, station, branch, or other facility offering retail postal services that is operated by a contractor, rather than by Postal Service employees.
§ 241.3 Discontinuance of USPS-operated retail facilities.
(a) Introduction —(1) Coverage. (i) This section establishes the rules governing the Postal Service’s consideration of whether an existing retail Post Office, station, or branch should be discontinued. The rules cover any proposal to:
(A) Replace a USPS-operated post office, station, or branch with a contractor-operated retail facility;
(B) Combine a USPS-operated post office, station, or branch with another USPS-operated retail facility, or
(C) Discontinue a USPS-operated post office, station, or branch without providing a replacement facility.
(ii) As used in this section, “USPS-operated retail facility” includes any Postal Service employee-operated post office, station, or branch, but does not
include any station, branch, community post office, or other retail facility operated by a contractor. “Contractor-operated retail facility” includes any station, branch,
community post office, or other facility, including a private business, offering retail postal services that is operated by a contractor, and does not include any USPS-operated retail facility.
(iii) The conversion of a post office into, or the replacement of a post office with, another type of USPS-operated retail facility is not a discontinuance action
subject to this section. A change in the management of a post office such that it is staffed only part-time by a postmaster, or not staffed at all by a postmaster, but
rather by another type of USPS employee, is not a discontinuance action subject to this section.
(4) Circumstances prompting decision to study —(i) Permissible circumstances. A District Manager, the responsible Vice President, or a designee of either may initiate a study of a USPS-operated retail facility’s potential discontinuance based upon circumstances including, but not limited to, the following:
(A) A postmaster vacancy;
(B) Emergency suspension of the USPS-operated retail facility due to cancellation of a lease or rental agreement when no suitable alternate quarters are available in the community, a fire or other natural disaster, severe health or safety hazards, challenge to the sanctity of the mail, or similar reasons;
(C) Earned workload below the minimum established level for the lowest non-bargaining (EAS) employee grade;
(D) Insufficient customer demand, evidenced by declining or low volume, revenue, revenue units, local business activity, or local population trends;
(E) The availability of reasonable alternate access to postal services for the community served by the USPS-operated retail facility; or
(F) The incorporation of two communities into one or other special circumstances.
(iv) Within the first 30 days after the written determination is made available, any person regularly served by a Post Office subject to discontinuance may appeal the decision to the Postal Regulatory Commission. Where persons regularly served by another type of USPS-operated retail facility subject to discontinuance file an appeal with the Postal Regulatory Commission, the General Counsel reserves the right to assert defenses, including the Commission’s lack of jurisdiction over such appeals.
Read the full document below:
USPS’ Proposed Rule To Amend Regulations for Closing/Consolidating Post Offices