Employees earn sick and annual leave in accordance with postal regulations found in Subchapter 510 of the Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM). Article 10, Section 2, of the National Agreement provides that "The leave regulations in Subchapter 510 of the [ELM], insofar as such regulations establish wages, hours or working conditions of employees covered by this Agreement, shall remain in effect for the life of this Agreement."

Annual Leave

Full-time career employees earn annual leave based on their number of creditable years of service in accordance with the following accrual chart:

Leave Category

Creditable Service

Maximum Leave Per Year

4

Less than 3 years

4 hours for each full biweekly pay period; i.e., 104 hours (13 days) per 26-period leave year.

6

3 years but less than 15 years

6 hours for each full biweekly pay period plus 4 hours in last full pay period in calendar year; i.e., 160 hours (20 days) per 26-period leave year.

8

15 years or more.

8 hours for each full biweekly pay period; i.e., 208 hours (26 days) per 26-period leave year.

Part-time employees earn annual leave based on their hours worked in accordance with the following chart:

Leave Category

Years of 
Creditable Service

Maximum Leave per Year

Rate of Accrual

Hours in Pay Status

Hours of 
Leave Earned per Period

4

Less than
3 years.

104 hours, or 13 days per 26-period leave year or 4 hours for each biweekly pay period.

1 hour for each unit of 20 hours pay in status.

20
40
60
80

1
2
3
4

6

3 years 
but less than 15 years.

160 hours, or 20 days per 26-period leave year or 6 hours for each full biweekly pay period.*

1 hour for each unit of 13 hours in a pay status.

13
26
39
52
65
78

1
2
3
4
5
6

8

15 years 
or more

208 hours, or 26 days per 26-period leave year or 8 hours for each full biweekly pay period.

1 hour for each unit of 10 hours in pay status.

10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

*Except that the accrual for the last pay period of the calendar year may be 10 hours, provided the employee has the 130 creditable hours or more in a pay status in the leave year for leave purposes.

Sick Leave

Sick leave for all career employees is accrued as follows:

Employee Category

Time Accrued

Full-time employees

4 hours for each full biweekly pay period - i.e., 13 days (104 hours) per 26-period leave year.

Part-time employees

1 hour for each unit of 20 hours in pay status up to 104 hours (13 days) per 26-period leave year.

 

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