The NALC and the USPS have agreed on two national-level settlements regarding FMLA and the use of NALC FMLA forms.
The Postal Service proposed changes to the Employee and Labor Relations Manual which required employees to use Department of Labor forms to certify FMLA protection.
The NALC took the position that there was no requirement under the FMLA to use Department of Labor forms and initiated two disputes. The first dispute was over the proposed ELM changes and the second was the over the Postal Service’s refusal to allow employees to use NALC FMLA forms.
In our first dispute over the proposed changes of the ELM, the Postal Service agreed to change the language in section 515 of the ELM (M-01812) to allow employees to use another format other than Department of Labor forms to certify FMLA protection.
The change in section 515 of the ELM resolves the NALCs second issue and employees may now use the NALC FMLA forms for FMLA protection. (M-01817)
Click here for the NALC FMLA forms or go to the NALC FMLA page for more information.
NALC resolves four more national disputes
The first case involved hiring transitional employees (TEs) for a period less than 360 days. The parties agreed M-01813 that the TE classification was phased out on 4/10/2013 for a new employee classification, City Carrier Assistants (CCAs). In accordance with Article 7.1.C.3 of the 2011-2016 National Agreement, CCAs are hired for terms of 360 calendar days.
The next dispute concerned the suspension of posting and bidding during data migration from the Complement Management System to the Human Capital Enterprise System. The parties agreed M-01815 that the subject suspension of bidding did not modify or alter the posting and bidding provisions of Article 41.1 of the National Agreement.
The parties further agreed that any case held pending resolution of this national case shall be processed pursuant to the provisions of the National Agreement.
The third issue dealt with the electronic PS Form 1769/301. The postal service created an electronic form that combined information from the PS Form 1769 and OSHA Form 301. The electronic form required supervisors to obtain information shielded by the Privacy Act. The postal service agreed M-01816 to modify the system through a Service Change Request; which no longer solicits information the union believed violated the Privacy Act.
The last case involved changes to questions used in the automated Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. The NALC had issues that when an employee called the Employee Service Line to request unscheduled leave, the IVR system required limited responses (yes or no) that an employee could not always answer.
The parties agreed to resolve the issue M-01818, when an employee calls the IVR system for unscheduled leave and is unable to successfully negotiate the prompts, the IVR system will direct the employee to contact his or her supervisor.