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'Sunday Premium' Settlement to Be Paid in Dec. 17 Checks
Many Eligible Employees Were Denied Proper Compensation

APWU News Bulletin #24-2004, Dec. 2, 2004 | PDF

The Postal Service has informed the union that employees who were improperly denied premium rates for Sunday work since February 2000 will receive their past-due compensation in paychecks distributed Dec. 17.

The payments are the result of a pre-arbitration settlement reached earlier this year that resolved a long-standing dispute concerning the Postal Service’s refusal to pay Sunday premium rates to employees on Continuation of Pay (COP) status, or on court or military leave.

The dispute was prompted by changes the USPS made to the Employees and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) in 2000.

Eligible employees will receive their extra pay in paycheck 26-04 (which also will be first paycheck to show the 1.3 percent annual raise that went into effect Nov. 27). The settlement pay will be at the then-current rate for any Sunday premium not paid.

The settlement also provides for employees who were denied their Sunday premium after winning back pay in arbitration or through a grievance settlement: These employees will be paid their extra premium with interest at the then-current interest rate.

The settlement required the Postal Service to rescind the disputed ELM changes, and to restore the provisions and administrative practices in effect prior to the 2000 changes.

In addition, the Postal service was required to supply APWU local presidents and APWU Regional Coordinators with a list of affected employees. In the event there is a dispute over whether an employee is eligible for payment, the dispute will be referred to the parties at the national level.

For further information on the settlement itself, see the Industrial Relations column in the May/June issue of The American Postal Worker. Articles in the APWU magazine also are available online, in the “Members Only” pages at www.apwu.org).

To read a copy of the pre-arbitration settlement online, go to www.apwu.org/dept/ind-rel/awd-set/031504irsunpremset.pdf).

Penalty Overtime Exclusion Period Begins

There are four consecutive service weeks each year during which penalty overtime regulations do not apply. (See Article 8, Sections 4 and 5, of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.)

For this year, the time period during which the penalty overtime regulations are not applicable begins with Pay Period 26-2004, Week 2 (Dec. 4, 2004), and ends with Pay Period 01-2005, Week 1 (Dec. 31).

Open Season Extended

The Postal Service has announced that it will accept Health Plan Open Season elections through 5 p.m. Central Time on Dec. 28.

The two-week extension is the result of a delayed printing and distribution schedule for the 2005 Federal Employee’s Health Benefits Career Employee Guides, and is permitted under Office of Personnel Management rules.

Season's Greetings

The Officers and staff of the American Postal Workers Union wish you and yours a happy and health holiday season.

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