by J.R. Pritchett, Employee Advocate
J.R. Pritchett
Have you ever heard of “Restricted Sick Leave”? If so, it’s probably been a very long time. Have you ever heard of anyone actually on Restricted Sick Leave? Probably not! Why? Primarily because it requires supervisors to have to create Restricted Sick Leave files and monitor whether the employee’s sick leave absences have improved. And if they show improvement it would be difficult to discipline the employee. What a hassle! No, Postal management would rather transfer the hassle to the employees.
ELM 513.361 is the provision that regulates when management can require an employee to provide documentation.
“For periods of absence of 3 days or less, supervisors may accept the employee’s statement explaining the absence. Medical documentation or other acceptable evidence of incapacity for work or need to care for a family member is required only when the employee is on restricted sick leave (see 513.39) or when the supervisor deems documentation desirable for the protection of the interests of the Postal Service. Substantiation of the family relationship must be provided if requested.”
Too often employees believe that when a supervisor tells them to bring in documentation, they assume the supervisor meant ‘medical documentation’. No. If you tell the supervisor that you were sick that should explain the absence. You can also put it in writing that you were sick, sign and date it. Medical documentation is only required when the employee is on Restricted Sick Leave. But since hardly anyone is on Restricted Sick Leave these days, supervisors tell employee that they are on a “Deems Desirable” list.
That’s because ELM 513.361 also states that an employee has to provide documentation, “when the supervisor deems documentation desirable for the protection of the interests of the Postal Service.” If the supervisor can deem anyone desirable to provide documentation at their discretion, then what’s the point of having a Restricted Sick Leave process? What were the unions thinking when they permitted the Postal Service to abuse the “deems desirable” intent?
Actually, management does not have as much discretion as the unions have permitted. ELM 865.1 addresses requirements to clear an employee to return to duty after a medical absence.
In pertinent part it states: “In making the decision whether to require documentation in order to clear the employee’s return to work, management must consider the essential functions of the employee’s job, the nature of the medical condition or procedure involved, and any other reliable and objective information (emphasis added) in order to make an individualized assessment whether there is a reason to require the return-to-work documentation.”
In other words, supervisors cannot ask an employee, not on Restricted Sick Leave, to produce documentation to substantiate their sick leave absence of three days or less. If the supervisor does not have some type of reliable and objective information to support a request for documentation under the pretext of “deems desirable”, then the employee should file a grievance. Make the supervisor produce the objective evidence.
This is the only way the unions will be able to put a stop to this abuse by supervisors towards employees who use their sick leave.
What’s the point of strictly an informative article without a little bit of a rant? So here goes.
Why are employees being disciplined for using their sick leave at all? Sick leave is part of your employment compensation, just like your paycheck is. The Postal Service agreed to give each employee a certain number of sick leave hours in exchange for a fair days work. But then they tell you they don’t want you to use it. In fact, if you do use more than they think you should, you could be subjected to discipline. Everybody knows that! Do you know how ridiculous of a concept that is? Does the Postal Service tell you where and how you spend your paycheck? And that if you don’t spend it in just a certain way you could be subjected to discipline? Of course not! Then why do the unions permit the Postal Service to discipline employees for using their sick leave?
If the unions, through their constituents, feel that having a Restricted Sick Leave policy is in the best interest of all employees, then fine. But there currently is no Restricted Sick Leave policy being implemented. There is only management’s freedom to make “deems desirable” demands of employees without fully following their own regulations by producing reliable and objective evidence supporting the reason for requiring an employee to produce documentation. It’s well past time for the unions to at least enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Postal Service that compels supervisors to provide objective evidence to prove that “deems desirable” documentation is in the interests of the Postal Service.
J.R. Pritchett, Employee Advocate
postalemployeeadvocate@juno.com
I like your article with one big exception. The unions don’t necessarily agree or allow management to arbitrarily and abusively ignore to use of restricted sick leave, it is the arbitrators who regularly agree with management on these issues. My local fights these issues daily! When they go to arbitration, there are arbitrators out there who routinely agree with management. We make the same arguments that you so eloquently point out, but it is an uphill battle when management fights it all the way to arbitration knowing that there is arbitral history to back up there anti-worker position.
Stating that the union’s have allowed it is very misleading and totally not true. This issue is fought on the work room floor daily in most offices. Once the arbitrators rule you are pretty much wasting the member’s money by trying to re-argue the same point over again. (res judicata). So again I like your article, and the points you make are valid points, but do not throw the unions under the proverbial bus while pointing out the injustices that take place with the approval of arbitrators who have other agendas.
I liked your article. When I was more actively involved in the Union, I would make the same arguments. There are always those who feel that employees that are legitimately ill or injured are beneath those employees who are blessed with good health. I always found that to be a shame. We had DBCS machines in our Installation which caused numerous employees to be hurt. It’s the individual’s right to use sick leave. If it’s being abused, it’s up to management to take appropriate action, within the confines of the contract.
I would also like to raise an issue that is occurring in our Installation. It concerns the Postal Service’s lack of accountability to safeguard & inform employees of their rights to Privacy. When we are speaking medical documentation, many employees (especially new ones) will provide their supervisor with medical prognosis & diagnosis. We no longer have a functioning on site medical unit that preserved the sanctity of our medical records. I filled an individual grievance on the subject and the local Union backed management.
I love when management gives discipline for irregular in attendance. They say they don’t do Restricted Sick Leave anymore. They love to quote ELM 511.43 Employee Responsibilities – Employees are expected to maintain their assigned schedule and must make every effort to avoid unscheduled absences.
What they always conveniently forget is M-39 115.1 – Basic Principle:
In the administration of discipline, a basic principle must be that discipline
should be corrective in nature, rather than punitive. No employee may be
disciplined or discharged except for just cause. The delivery manager must
make every effort to correct a situation before resorting to disciplinary
measures.
When they skip the Restricted Sick Leave step they have violated the M-39 by not making every effort to correct a situation before resorting to disciplinary measures. Toss out that discipline.
I never call in sick and I have not used extended sick leave in over 4 years. My supervisor requires me to bring in documentation even if I ask for 30 minutes to go to the doctor. I have over 900 hours of sick leave. I’ve worked here for just short of 19 years. I printed this article because she must be clueless to this part of the ELM. I know I was until today.
also, when I raised the issue of restricted sick leave, they said “oh, we don’t do that anymore “. yes, yes we do.
the last time they tried to issue LOW in my office for attendance @two years ago, I said in the grieves that the carriers should have been put on restricted sick leave before receiving discipline. I also asked for a definition of “regular” and their formal A rep said it means you have to report to work every day. I claimed that was unreasonable and violated the principles of just cause. B team granted my request to rescind both LOW, and they haven’t issued attendance discipline in my office since.
You’re quoting the ELM so let me do the same:
513.11 Sick Leave for Employee Incapacitation
Sick leave insures employees against loss of pay if they are incapacitated for
the performance of duties because of illness, injury, pregnancy and
confinement, and medical (including dental or optical) examination or
treatment.
Sick leave is to be used when an employee is incapacitated for work, not when they just don’t feel like coming to work. It’s managements responsibility to enforce postal policy and regulations. Nothing in the ELM, that I know of, indicates how an employee can spend their paycheck, but the ELM does give policy on when an employee can use Sick Leave.
511.43 Employee Responsibilities
Employees are expected to maintain their assigned schedule and must make
every effort to avoid unscheduled absences. In addition, employees must
provide acceptable evidence for absences when required.
Employees are expected to be regular in attendances.
I was in this situation, I missed eight days in six months with documentation from the doctor and I received warning letter .I complain to EEO and Post Office canceled the warning letter.
Article would of been better had you listed all aspects of the ELM. No one has ever been issued discipline for using sick leave that I have ever seen. How about quoting the part of the ELM that says employees must be regular in attendance? That is what employees get disciplined for not for using sick leave. However, I guess it is just the USPS being mean as I am sure no other company has any issues with employees not showing up to work. Such a rough job expecting all employees to show up to work. I hear McDonald’s is hiring maybe they are more forgiving on not showing to work if you just have a smile. Dumb article good job only listing parts of the facts.
Look Supervisor or troll, you obviously are either lying or just an idiot. I’ve seen LOW’s issued for 1 day missed in 2 years. USPS manager’s are abusing the contract and the unions need to stop it. He posted what was relevant in the article, nothing posted after the article changes anything he posted.
Retired Letter Carrier w/40 yrs. of service. 76% of high 3 salary in the bank. After telling many supervisors throughout my career that I intend to use ALL my sick leave before I retire, I did just that. The days of saving thousands of hours of S.L. and then then using it all in your last year are over. Say what you want but using it is the most valuable way way to go. Oh, and used every dime of uniform allowance also. Forced the …. to get me my CDL license based on the last job I bidded on (Official Mail). I know you probably don’t know what that is.
i have have lost pay due to my o.i.c. while other carriers were paid. my union knew of this and did nothing! all depends on who you are!!
Restricted Sick leave is a darn joke. Through the years Managers, Postmasters, and Supervisors use no leave and go or just say nothing and go. Thereby all hours of sick leave and Annual leave is saved. Guess what; !-3 years they get deathly sick and start to use their leave with the concurrence of some medical personnel. Yet some poor employee that use justified leave is harassed to no end. Those were the tactics used by Gloria Benevides, and others. R.S.L. was only used to scare employees into coming to work ill, spreading germs and contaminating the work areas. Many used over 3,000+ hours when they are within 3 years of retirement, or closer.