Domestic Mail

Notice to All Post Offices With Rural Delivery Service: Rural Carrier Guarantee Period

Postal Service™ managers must effectively manage rural carriers who work under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) section 7(b)(2). Those carriers are paid overtime for all hours actually worked in excess of 2,080, up to 2,240, within the 52-consecutive-week guar­antee period.

If a carrier works more than 2,240 hours within the guar­antee period, the agreement under FLSA, section 7(b)(2) is considered void, and the carrier must be compensated for all hours worked during the guarantee period in accor­dance with FLSA, section 7(a).

It is important that concerted effort is made to minimize the number of hours carriers work over 2,080 and strictly monitor these carriers to ensure that no carrier works in excess of 2,240 actual work hours.

The 2010–2011 guarantee period for the past year was from Saturday, October 23, 2010, through Friday, October 21, 2011. This year’s 2011–2012 guarantee period will begin on Saturday, October 22, 2011, and continue through Friday, October 19, 2012.