USPS Position Letter: Article 19; Handbooks and Manuals (1984)

The grievance concerns the local management practice of scheduling part-time flexible employees to report for duty at 5 minutes after the hour or half hour. The union contends this manner of scheduling deprives PTF employees of the opportunity to earn annual leave per Exhibit 512.321, ELM. According to the file, the work schedule of a PTF employee in this local office is set to seldom extend above 7 hours and 55 minutes when no overtime is contemplated. Management rationalizes that this method of scheduling controls unauthorized overtime by PTF employees. One of the concerns is that some PTF employees, when scheduled for 8 hours, invariably remain on-the-clock for more than 8 hours due to unproductive activities which cause the employee not to ring out in a timely manner. Notwithstanding the union’s arguments concerning the loss of leave earning potential, and the fact that there are some existing provisions in the ELM to control unauthorized overtime, we find no prohibition to this manner of scheduling. PTF employees are not guaranteed 8 hours of work on any given day and earn leave in units commensurate with the total time worked. Accordingly, as we find no violation of the National Agreement, this grievance is denied.