Upon receipt of notification that the employee is leaving to perform uniformed service as defined in 771.2a for 31 or more days, the employee’s immediate manager or supervisor must contact HR to ensure that necessary personnel actions are completed and appropriate benefits are continued. The manager’s or supervisor’s notification to HR must be made in writing regardless of how the employee gave notice of his or her departure from the uniformed service.
The notification must contain typical employee identifiers, including the following:
- Full name;
- Pay location;
- Employee Identification Number (EIN);
- Information about the employee’s pending service; and
- All documentation provided by the employee.
If that manager or supervisor faces a legitimate critical operational burden, he or she may request that HR contact the employee’s military command to inquire if the uniformed service may be rescheduled. HR must consult the Law Department before contacting the employee’s military command. The military command’s decision on the request to reschedule an employee’s uniformed service is final and cannot be appealed.
The employee must be released to perform uniformed service even if the employee fails to provide advance notice as required by USERRA. If an employee does not provide advance notice, the employee’s supervisor or manager must notify HR. HR and Postal Service Labor Relations must consult the Law Department before taking personnel action in such situations.
The employee’s supervisor or manager is responsible for notifying the employee orally or in writing of the employee’s rights, obligations, and benefits before the employee departs for and upon the employee’s return from active uniformed service. This notification includes any appeal and grievance rights.
However, this does not relieve the employee from the responsibility to exercise due diligence to request this information from management or the appropriate HR office.
Additionally, the law requires that individuals performing uniformed service must be given the opportunity for career advancement as if they were actively present on the job. To ensure compliance, HR includes the following in the discussion as appropriate:
- Bargaining positions. While performing uniformed service, employees continue to accrue seniority and may bid on positions that may become vacant during the employee’s absence. The following procedures apply:
- A written or electronic notice must be submitted by the employee to HR, or if appropriate, to the manager–in–charge, such as postmaster, indicating the employee’s interest in bidding on specific positions.
- The bids should be processed and awarded in accordance with the appropriate collective bargaining agreement (CBA) as if the employee were actively employed. If the employee is awarded a position, a personnel action must be initiated to place the employee in the newly gained position and pay scale to ensure that seniority is credited as specified by the appropriate CBA.
- Unsuccessful bids are retained until the desired position is gained or the employee resumes active employment upon return from uniformed service. Training will be deferred for employees who gain a position for which there is contractually required training until they return.
- Upon return, the employee will be required to meet training requirements according to the respective CBA. No personnel action must be initiated until the employee completes the training requirement. In these cases, every effort must be made to train the employee upon return to work. The employee must only be awarded the position upon satisfactorily completing the required training. HR must maintain an audit trail documenting the bid submissions.
- Nonbargaining positions. To be considered for nonbargaining positions, nonbargaining and bargaining employees performing uniformed service are required to submit to HR completed PS Forms 991 for specific position descriptions reflecting the desired positions and locations. HR will activate the application as soon as the desired position and location has a vacancy. The application is considered in accordance with the nonbargaining-selection policies.
Applications resulting in a nonselection are considered as vacancies occur in the specified position and location, until the applicant has been successfully selected. Applications from employees who are on active duty with the uniformed services are accepted at any time for subsequent consideration when an appropriate vacancy is announced.
In addition, the following provisions apply to bargaining and nonbargaining employees:
- Reassignment requests. Nonbargaining employees on active duty may also request reassignments to lateral or lower-level positions in accordance with the nonbargaining-selection policy.
- When personnel action must be effected. Selected individuals will be placed in the new position and at the appropriate pay level by initiating a personnel action while in the LWOP status.
- Return from uniformed service. Upon the employee’s return from uniformed service, the responsibility for submitting bids or applications for nonbargaining positions reverts to the employee.
HR must establish and retain an audit trail of the selection activity.
Supervisors or managers must notify HR if an employee has provided notice of pending uniformed service with an anticipated duration of 31 or more days or is seeking reemployment following completing uniformed service lasting 31 or more days.
HR will provide the supervisor or manager with a hard copy of USPS 37, USERRA and Postal Service Provisions for Employees Performing Active Duty Military Service. The supervisor or manager must give a copy of USPS 37 to the employee before the employee’s departure to begin uniformed service. USPS 37 provides the employee an explanation of his or her rights, obligations, and benefits under USERRA, and Postal Service regulations.
HR will notify the Human Resources Shared Service Center (HRSSC) when the employee is approved for reemployment and request that a USPS 37 - Return to Duty USERRA Kit be sent to the employee.
Employees called for uniformed service as defined in 771.2a must be placed in a LWOP-Military status, using NOA-460 and Special Benefit Code U.
Employees who choose to resign their employment when leaving to perform uniformed service must complete a PS Form 42, Declaration of Voluntary Resignation to Enter Military Service (For Career and Non-Career Employees). PS Form 42 is used to:
- Acknowledge the employee’s decision not to return to employment with the Postal Service following uniformed service;
- Notify the employee of all nonseniority-based benefits that he or she forfeits by resigning; and
- Notify the employee that his or her restoration rights are not waived by the employee’s resignation.
If the employee does not sign PS Form 42, he or she must be placed into an LWOP-Military status using NOA-460. If the employee signs a PS Form 42, a resignation-military NOA-313 must be initiated. An employee who resigns to perform uniformed service will be restored to employment at his or her request if eligible under USERRA and will be entitled to seniority as if the employee never left for uniformed service.
However, the employee forfeits nonseniority-based employment benefits that he or she would have earned during the period of uniformed service if the employee had not resigned and had opted instead to go on LWOP.
Only HR has the authority to approve a request to resign to perform uniformed service. The employee’s supervisor or manager must notify HR when an employee requests to resign to perform uniformed service. HR will give the manager a copy of PS Form 42 for the employee to sign. The completed and signed PS Form 42 must be submitted to the HRSSC. The HRSSC will not process a resignation for the employee entering uniformed service without a signed PS Form 42.
