Relief Days
(Article 9.2.C.5.)
20. When can management change the relief days on one or more regular K routes in an office?
A. Management may change the relief days in an office, only if there is an insufficient number of leave replacements and one or more regular carriers are working their relief days on more than an infrequent occasion.
21. If a regular carrier elects a Friday/Saturday rotation, a Monday, or a Friday as the non-Saturday relief day, will they be provided the 53:00 – 55:00 standard hour route evaluation incentive?
A. No. Only those carriers who elect Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday as their non-Saturday relief day will provided the 53:00 – 55:00 standard hour route evaluation incentive.
22. When a carrier elects Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday as the relief day, they will be provided an incentive of allowing the route to grow to 53:00 – 55:00 standard hours and maintain that evaluation for the period that the carrier remains on that route. Will the route evaluation be "built up" to 53:00 – 55:00 standard hours?
A. No. The route will increase through normal growth or as a result of a mail count, not through adjustments to build the evaluation. If the route becomes overburdened it will be adjusted no lower than 53:00 – 55:00 standard hours, except as provided in the Extension or in accordance with national policies.
23. If a carrier elects or is assigned a non-Saturday relief day, will there ever be occasion for reassignment back to Saturday as the relief day?
A. Yes. There are several circumstances that may necessitate reassignment back to Saturday relief days. If the number of leave replacements in the office increases or the number of routes with an authorized relief day changes, the formula will be recalculated and management may be required to reassign the appropriate number of relief days to Saturday. In addition, if a residual vacancy is awarded to a PTF, substitute, or RCA, and a Saturday relief day is available the residual vacancy will be assigned a non-Saturday relief day and the Saturday relief day will be reassigned accordingly.
24. If circumstances in the office require that the formula be recalculated and the number of Saturday relief days increases, how long does management have to complete the calculation and the reassignment of relief days back to Saturday?
A. Management must recalculate the formula and complete the reassignment process within thirty (30) days.
25. Under what circumstances can management change the non-Saturday relief day of a route to a different non-Saturday relief day?
A. Management may change the non-Saturday relief day to a different non-Saturday relief day when it is necessary to provide an additional primary assignment for a PTF rural carrier and the relief day of the route is the same as one of the PTF’s other routes. In addition, if a new PTF rural carrier assignment is being created and it is necessary to provide an additional primary assignment for the PTF, non-Saturday relief days may need to be changed. Any reassignment of non-Saturday relief days must be done in accordance with Article 9.2.C.5.e.
26. Are K routes the only routes that will elect or be assigned non-Saturday relief days?
A. Yes. The results of the formula provide the maximum number of non-Saturday relief days that may be assigned to K routes. When implementing the formula, only K routes will be assigned non-Saturday relief days.
27. If a K route with a non-Saturday relief day changes to a J classification, will the route retain the non-Saturday relief day?
A. No. If a K route is assigned a non-Saturday relief day and changes to a J classification at a later date, the relief day will be changed to Saturday and if available, another K route may be assigned a non-Saturday relief day.
28. If a carrier assigned to an H or J route requires management to provide a leave replacement for their route in accordance with Article 30.2.A.2, may a PTF position be established or a PTF assignment extended to include the H or J route?
A. No. However, the employee has a contractual entitlement to have a leave replacement assigned to his or her route and management has a contractual obligation to continue to make every effort to hire a leave replacement for the route until that obligation is met.
29. If a carrier is on the relief day work list and is scheduled to work a relief day, how soon must he or she select the option of payment?
A. The carrier must select one of the options listed in Article 9.2.C.5.f. no later than the day the relief day is worked.
30. What does "immediately scheduled by mutual agreement" mean in Article 9.2.C.5.f.(1)?
A. When a carrier on the relief day work list is selected to work, the carrier may select option #1. At that time or no later than the day the relief day is worked, the carrier and manager should mutually agree when the X day will be given and annotate it on the schedule.
31. When a regular carrier is entitled to an X day in accordance with the provisions of this Extension, does the carrier schedule the X day?
A. No. Except in those cases where the relief day is scheduled by mutual agreement, management will schedule the X day.
32. Does the period from the beginning of the guarantee period through the end of the designated Christmas period, extend the twelve-week period to schedule an X day?
A. Yes. For example, a regular carrier works their relief day on Saturday, September 23, 2000. At the beginning of the guarantee period six weeks has passed. Management will continue counting the 12-week period after Christmas and will have until February 2, 2001 to provide the X day. The X day earned for working the relief day on September 23, 2000 can not be granted from the beginning of the guarantee period through the end of the designated Christmas period.
33. What action is taken if a carrier does not receive an X day within twelve (12) weeks or within the same pay period from the beginning of the guarantee period through the end of the designated Christmas period?
A. Any carrier who is not provided an X day within twelve weeks or during the same pay period as required in Article 9.2.C.5.h., will receive 100% of the carrier's daily rate of pay in lieu of the X day.
34. Can a regular rural carrier request to work his or her relief day for personal reasons?
A. No. Working the scheduled relief day in accordance with personal wishes is not permitted when there is a qualified leave replacement available in the delivery unit.
35. If a carrier is to be compensated in accordance with Article 9.2.C.5.k. for not receiving an X day in the required time and has changed route assignments since working the relief day (R day); what route evaluation will be used to calculate the 100% compensation?
A. The evaluation of the route on which the carrier was assigned when working the relief day will be used to determine the compensation of 100% of the daily rate of pay.
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