PostalReporter News Blog

From the Federal Business Opportunities website:

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is pursuing a National Agreement with a Supplier(s) that has or is capable of developing a comprehensive Medical Provider Organization for conducting all non-work related medical examinations for the USPS. Postal Service offices are located in each of the 50 states plus Puerto Rico.  Examinations and testing may be required in or around every city in the country.

 This program will support the following USPS Internal Business Partner’s (IBP’s):  Health and Resource Management (Occupational Health Services), U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Office of Inspector General, and Corporate Personnel Management.

 The medical examinations include but are not limited to:

         Pre-employment physical examinations for law enforcement applicants (Postal Inspectors, OIG Agents, and Postal Police Officers).

• Mandated law enforcement periodic physical examinations
• Specialty examinations for Forensic Laboratory Services and Technical Services personnel and Firing Range Instructors
• Health examinations for Postal Executives
• Focused Examinations for hiring suitability
• Fitness for Duty Examinations requested by the IBPs
• Fitness for Duty Examinations requested by Health and Resource Management for OWCP cases
• Threat Assessments (Emergency Fitness for Duty)
• FMLA Second and Third Opinions
• Return to work clearance exams
• Safe Driver program examinations
• National Reassessment Program examinations
• Specialty laboratory examinations and treatments
• Any other specific IBP medical examinations required

The majority of these examinations will require board certified specialists including psychiatrists, psychologists, orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, neurologists, physical medicine specialists, occupational medicine specialists, ophthalmologists, otolaryngologists, etc.  The physician administering the examination is prohibited from establishing any future medical/professional relationship once the examination has been scheduled.  The sole purpose of the examining physician is to administer the examination and to record the findings.

Response Date:  Aug 27, 2010 11:59 pm Eastern

The Department of Labor issued the following clarification on the expanded FMLA regulations:

Neither the statute nor the regulations restrict the number of parents a child may have under the FMLA.  For example, where a child’s biological parents divorce, and each parent remarries, the child will be the “son or daughter” of both the biological parents and the stepparents and all four adults would have equal rights to take FMLA leave to care for the child.  An employee who will share equally in the raising of an adopted child with a same sex partner, but who does not have a legal relationship with the child, would be entitled to leave to bond with the child following placement, or to care for the child if the child had a serious health condition, because the employee stands “in loco parentis” to the child.
 
Wage and Hour Division Administrator’s Interpretation No. 2010-3
June 22, 2010
Issued by Deputy Administrator Nancy J. Leppink

 SUBJECT: Clarification of the definition of “son or daughter” under Section 101(12) of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as it applies to an employee standing “in loco parentis” to a child.

 The Administrator has determined that additional clarification is needed on the definition of “son or daughter” as it applies to an employee taking FMLA-protected leave for the birth or placement of a child, to care for a newborn or newly placed child, or to care for a child with a serious health condition.  Based on the Wage and Hour Division’s experience in administering the FMLA, it is evident that many employees and employers are unsure of how the FMLA applies when there is no legal or biological parent-child relationship.  The Administrator is issuing this interpretation to provide needed guidance on this important area of law. Continue reading ‘FMLA Leave Expanded to More Parents And Children’ »

Exhaustion of FMLA protected leave is a common problem in the Postal Service. This legal article makes several good points about ADA considerations:

The broadened scope of the ADA increases the likelihood that anyone taking FMLA leave for their own serious health condition may also have an ADA protected disability. As a result, it is important for employers to consider whether the employee is covered by the ADA (or state disability law) before separating an employee who has provided notice of his or her inability to return to work following exhaustion of the employee’s maximum FMLA leave entitlement. Oftentimes, such employee notice includes a request for additional leave and/or a doctor’s note with a return-to-work date beyond the FMLA leave expiration date. While there is no duty under the FMLA to grant additional leave, if the employee’s medical condition meets the definition of an ADA disability, there may be a duty under the ADA to consider granting additional unpaid time off from work, as some courts have held that leave is a form of reasonable accommodation.

Read Full Article

This a quite a lengthy case so I will try to summarize it with key points:

The Postal Service was found to have unlawfully discriminated against Michigan Letter Carrier Barbara Passage on the basis of disability, sex, retaliation for EEO activity in the terms and condition of her employment. Additionally,USPS managers/supervisors failed to reasonably accomodate Passage under the Rehabilitation Act. EEOC ruled that USPS failed to show it could accomodating her would cause a hardship.

The claims raised by Passage:

On June 22, 2007, her FMLA was denied;
On July 9, 2007,she was issued a letter of warning;
On July 18, 2007, she was issued a 7-Day Suspension;
On August 4, 2007, she was harassed and her 3996 was disapproved;
On August 7, 2007, she was harassed about her field and office time and her 3996 and 1571 disapproved;
On Septmeber 11, 2007, she was issued a letter of warning;
On or about November 20,2007, her attendance records was illegally changed, her FMLA hours were “exhausted and her FMLA protection terminted;
On December 11, 2007, she was given a pre-discplinary interview;
On December 26,2007, she received a letter of warning charging her with Irregular Attendance;
On or about January 16,2008, she was denied FMLA

The Postal Service’s Associate Area Medical Director retaliated against Passage for EEO activity under the Rehabiliation Act in providing instructions to the FMLA Coordinator for the purpose of denying her FMLA coverage. The Area Medical Director also provided instructions as to treatment of Passage regarding her leave request and medical certifications.

USPS manager/supervisors also retaliated against Passage for EEO activity; not providing her with assistance in delivering mail and by disciplining her for returning from route with undelivered mail when they did not do so for a male employee.

The USPS Area Medical Doctor contacted Passage’s doctor after receiving her FMLA certification in 2007. The USPS doctor told her doctor that the requested time off was too much and it could not be approved. She also inquired whether the Passage was a malinerer and honest. Passage’s doctor explained that Passage was not a malinerer but suffered from a condition that required time off. Since the Area Medical doctor told Passage’s doctor that she would not get the requested time off, he changed the medical certification to what the Area Doctor suggested.

During the hearing the FMLA Coordinator for USPS, Michigan District admitted that the “Agency policy is to challenge any certification for absences that allow an employee to take off work a great deal.” The EEOC administrative judge wrote,” This policy shows that the Agency is not complying with the Rehabilitiation Act because it is not accessing each employee’s need for absences on an individualized basis but simply challenges all requests for absences that it feels are general too many.

EEO set the remedy for this discrimination should be in part is to pay passage $50,000 in compensatory damages and separate attorney costs/fees.

This case is not settled as USPS was expected to challenge this decision.

Postal employees will have more opportunities to take time off work to help family members who are military service members or veterans under new rules mandated by the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act.

The law, signed late last year by President Obama, allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of paid or unpaid leave per year under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to help a family member who is on active duty or is being called up for active duty to a foreign country.

The new rules also enable employees to take up to 26 weeks of paid or unpaid leave per year under FMLA to care for family members who are veterans and need medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy for a serious injury or illness incurred in or aggravated by service in the line of duty on active duty.

Previously, employees could only take time off to help injured or ill family members who were active-duty military. To qualify, the veteran must have been a member of the military, National Guard, or Reserves during the five years preceding the treatment, recuperation or therapy.

Click here for further information about the Family and Medical Leave Act. (internal USPS link)

also see New Law Expands FMLA for Military Families