Leave Buy Back: National-Level Dispute with the Postal Service

In 2001 the APWU learned that the Postal Service had instructed its Injury Compensation Specialists to inform employees who suffered on-the-job injuries that “if leave is used after a claim is accepted by the Department of Labor, OWCP, that leave may not be bought back.” On July 18, 2001, the APWU initiated a Step 4 dispute regarding this policy, charging that the Postal Service violated the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Because employer leave-buy-back programs are not required under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) or the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) has no involvement in the union’s dispute with the Postal Service.

A refusal by the Postal Service to process an injured employee’s request to buy back leave based on this policy may be grieved and held at the local level, pending the resolution of the national-level grievance.