All employees requesting Wounded Warriors Leave must do the following:
- Submit their request on PS Form 3971, Request for or Notification of Absence, in advance to the appropriate supervisor; and
- Designate the reason for the absence as “other” and write “Wounded Warriors Leave” in the space provided.
The Postal Service makes an exception to the advance approval requirement for unexpected treatment that qualifies for Wounded Warriors Leave. When the need to use Wounded Warriors Leave is not foreseeable, the employee must notify the appropriate supervisor of the following items:
- The employee’s treatment;
- The expected duration of the absence; and
- The applicability of Wounded Warriors Leave, as soon as possible.
Alternatively, the employee may use the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system to record his or her absences. If the employee does not submit PS Form 3971 before the absence, the supervisor must provide it to the employee upon his or her return to duty.
The supervisor is responsible for approving or disapproving requests for Wounded Warriors Leave by signing PS Form 3971, and returning a copy to the employee. If a supervisor does not approve a request for leave as submitted, the supervisor must check the Disapproved block on PS Form 3971 and give the reason(s) for the disapproval in writing in the space provided. When a request is disapproved, the supervisor may also grant an alternate type of leave, if any, and give with the reason for the disapproval. Supervisors must also note Absences Without Leave (AWOL) determinations the same as disapproved leave.
To verify that Wounded Warriors Leave requested by an employee is appropriately used for the treatment of a service-connected disability, the requesting employee must submit to the supervisor a copy of PS Form 5980, Treatment Verification for Wounded Warriors Leave, certified by a health care provider that the employee used the leave to receive treatment for a covered disability. The employee must provide the verification no later than 15 calendar days after the employee returns to work.
