484 Application of Administrative Offset Provisions

If a former bargaining unit employee pursues a grievance in accordance with 482 or 483.1, the procedures regarding administrative offsets in 470 and the review procedures in 39 CFR 966 apply under the following circumstances, if the Postal Service also intends to proceed with the collection of the debt:

Failure to initiate a grievance in time. A former bargaining unit employee or the former employee’s union does not initiate, within 14 days of the former employee’s receipt of a letter of demand (including the notice referenced in 472.1), a grievance challenging: (1) the existence of a debt owed to the Postal Service; (2) the amount of such debt; and/or (3) the proposed repayment schedule.
Failure to advance a grievance in time. A former bargaining unit employee or the former employee’s union initiates a grievance in time challenging: (1) the existence of a debt owed to the Postal Service; (2) the amount of such debt; and/or (3) the proposed repayment schedule, but the former employee’s union, following receipt of a decision denying the grievance, does not advance the grievance to the next step of the grievance procedure within the time limits set forth in Article 15 of the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
Partial settlement of a grievance. A grievance challenging: (1) the existence of a debt owed to the Postal Service; (2) the amount of such debt; and/or (3) the proposed repayment schedule is resolved at any stage of the grievance-arbitration procedure through a written settlement agreement between the Postal Service and the union under which the former employee remains liable for all or a portion of the debt.
Ruling of non-arbitrability. An arbitrator rules that a grievance concerning any letter of demand is not arbitrable.