Under certain circumstances, as described in this chapter, an employee may be appointed to more than one position in the Postal Service. This type of employment is known as a dual appointment. Only one of the appointments may be to a position in the career workforce. The primary purpose of dual appointments is to improve the opportunity of career part-time employees and noncareer employees to gain additional employment and to minimize unemployment compensation expense. Dual appointments also allow the Postal Service to use experienced employees instead of hiring new employees.
Substitute rural carriers (designation/activity codes 720 and 730) may be given a dual appointment to a career part-time position or noncareer position. Postal Support Employees (PSEs), City Carrier Assistants (CCAs), Mail Handler Assistants (MHAs), Casual Mail Handlers, Rural Carrier Reliefs (RCRs), Rural Carrier Associates (RCAs), and Postmaster Relief (Remotely Managed Post Office (RMPO) (PMRs), cannot be given a dual appointment to a career position. Dual appointments of noncareer employees in other noncareer positions may also be limited. Consult the Valid Dual Combinations list on the HRSSC Personnel Administration Toolkit web page as needed.
Installation heads must ensure that all dual appointments are cost effective and in the best interest of the Postal Service. Before deciding to make dual appointments, installation heads should consider the following factors:
- Estimated daily workload requirement (hour by hour) in each craft.
- Workload that can be covered by increasing the hours of part-time flexible employees currently on the rolls, by the judicious use of overtime hours.
- Workload that can be covered by using employees from another craft, in accordance with applicable provisions in collective bargaining agreements.
- Practicality of using part-time employees from nearby Post Offices.
- Installation flexibility to make necessary leave replacements if dual appointments are made.
- Average weekly workhours for each employee on the rolls and dual appointment reduction in the Postal Service’s liability for state unemployment compensation benefits.
- Combined hours of the dual appointment totaling more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week.
The district manager or designee has authority to make dual appointments, as appropriate.
Employees considered for dual appointments must meet all qualification requirements for both positions, including examination requirements, if any. Likewise, substitute rural carrier employees (designation/activity codes 720 and 730) may be appointed to entry level career positions noncompetitively as permitted under applicable collective bargaining agreements. All other procedures for selection and appointment are included in Handbook EL-312, Employment and Placement.
An employee serving under a dual appointment is compensated for the work performed in a particular position at the appropriate rate for that position. If one of the positions of a dual appointment carries the right to benefits, the employee accrues the rights immediately upon appointment to that position and retains the rights even while working in another position that does not have such benefit rights. Other rights, which accrue to a position under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, are accorded to the employee. Special handling is required to ensure that FLSA-overtime is properly paid where the employee works overtime at two different rates and in more than one facility.
An employee’s change to full-time status requires termination of the dual appointment.
An employee, other than a Governor, may serve and receive pay concurrently as an employee of the Postal Service and as an employee of any other federal agency, except the Postal Regulatory Commission. See Handbook EL-312, 233.35 and 234.23, Dual Employment, for information on restrictions on dual employment. When a postal employee is employed concurrently in another federal agency, postal employment is primary and takes precedence when a scheduling conflict arises.
A Postal Service employee may be employed concurrently as an employee in the private sector unless such employment has an adverse impact on postal operations or where conflicts of interest may be generated between the private employer and/or employee and the Postal Service. When a postal employee is employed concurrently by another private employer, postal employment is primary and takes precedence when a scheduling conflict arises. See 662.1 for further information.
