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RETRACTION OF ELM REVISION Acts of God and Civil DisordersThe Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) revision shown in the article "ELM Revision: Acts of God and Civil Disorders" in Postal Bulletin 22107 (7-24-03, page 29) has been retracted. As a result, the ELM is not amended at this time. Specifically, section 519.22 is not deleted, and sections 519.211 through 519.215 do not include Civil Disorders under the Acts of God policy. Note: The policies stated in ELM 17.3, sections 519.21 and 519.22 (before Postal Bulletin 22107, 7-24-03), remain in effect. - Compensation,
ELM REVISION Availability of Interest on Back Pay ClaimsEffective November 13, 2003, Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) 436, Back Pay, is modified to clarify how, and under what circumstances, the Accounting Service Center (ASC) applies an interest calculation to a back pay claim. An employee found under applicable law, rule, regulation, or collective bargaining agreement to have been subject to an unjustified or unwarranted personnel action that resulted in the withdrawal or reduction of pay, allowances, or differentials may be entitled to receive compensation under a back pay claim for the period the personnel action was in effect. A recipient of back pay may be entitled to interest. The changes in ELM 436.61 through 436.63 are shown in the text printed below the summary of changes. ELM 436.64 remains unchanged. We will incorporate these revisions into the next printed version of the ELM, and also into the online version, available on the Postal ServiceTM PolicyNet Web site; go to http://blue.usps.gov; click on More References, and then Manuals. It is also available on the Internet; go to www.usps.com; click on About USPS & News, then Browse All Periodicals & Publications, and then Manuals (either PDF Format or Text Format). Summary of Changes436.61, Purpose, clarifies the general obligation the Postal Service has in paying interest on back pay claims. 436.62, Availability of Interest, clarifies under what circumstances the Postal Service is required to pay interest on a back pay claim. 436.63, Determination of Rate of Interest, clarifies how the ASC determines the rate of interest to be paid on a back pay claim. Exhibit 436.63a, Interest on Back Pay Decisions, clarifies how the ASC determines the rate of interest for an adjustment on a back pay award issued by a court, arbitration, or federal agency decision. Exhibit 436.63b, Interest on Back Pay Settlements, clarifies how the ASC determines the rate of interest for an adjustment on a back pay award issued by a court, prearbitration, or federal agency settlement. Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) * * * * * 4 Pay Administration * * * * * 430 Basic and Special Pay Provisions * * * * * 436 Back Pay * * * * * 436.6 Interest on Back Pay 436.61 Purpose [Revise 436.61 to read as follows:] This section establishes procedures for paying interest that the Postal Service is obligated to pay pursuant to the law, court order, arbitration or federal agency decision, national labor agreement, or Postal Service settlement agreement. This section does not create any Postal Service obligation to pay interest on back pay claims. [Revise the title and text of 436.62 to read as follows:] 436.62 Availability of Interest Interest is paid on back pay only under the following circumstances: a. Decisions - awards resulting from legally binding determinations by courts of law, administrative agencies, or the grievance and arbitration process. They are handled as follows: (1) Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Interest is paid automatically by the Accounting Service Center (ASC). (2) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Interest is paid automatically by the ASC. (3) National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Interest is paid automatically by the ASC. (4) Court Decisions. Interest is not paid unless specifically awarded in the decision. (5) Arbitration Decisions. Interest is paid automatically for arbitration decisions that award back pay for a disciplinary suspension or removal for employees represented by the National Postal Mail Handlers' Union (NPMHU) for cases heard after February 20, 1991, and for employees represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the American Postal Workers' Union (APWU) for cases heard after June 12, 1991. Note: For arbitration decisions that are unrelated to a disciplinary suspension or removal, interest is not paid unless it is specifically required by the award. b. Settlements - awards resulting from agreements between a representative of the Postal Service and an authorized employee representative that are reached through negotiation. Interest is not paid unless it is specifically required by the settlement agreement. [Revise the title and text of 436.63 to read as follows:] 436.63 Determination of Rate of Interest When interest is paid on back pay, the interest rate is determined as follows: a. Decisions (see Exhibit 436.63a): (1) Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The rate of interest is based on the veterans' preference eligibility of the employee. (a) For veterans' preference eligible employees, the rate of interest is calculated using the Internal Revenue Code Overpayment Rate (see 26 U.S.C. 6621(a)(1)). Computation methods for applying the rate of interest are as found in 5 CFR 550.806. (b) For non-veterans' preference eligible employees, the rate of interest is calculated using the Federal Judgment Rate (see 28 U.S.C. 1961). (2) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Interest is paid at the Internal Revenue Code Overpayment Rate (see 26 U.S.C. 6621(a)(1)). Computation methods for applying the rate of interest are as found in 5 CFR 550.806. (3) National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Interest is paid at the Federal Judgment Rate (see 28 ISC 1961). (4) Court Decisions. Interest is paid at the Federal Judgment Rate (see 28 U.S.C. 1961). (5) Arbitration Decisions. For arbitration decisions that award back pay for disciplinary suspension or removal, interest is paid at the Federal Judgment Rate (see 28 U.S.C. 1961). Note: For arbitration decisions unrelated to disciplinary suspension or removal, interest is not paid unless specifically required by the award. b. Settlements (see Exhibit 436.63b): (1) Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The rate of interest for MSPB cases is based on the veterans' preference eligibility of the employee. (a) For veterans' preference eligible employees, the rate of interest is calculated using the Internal Revenue Code Overpayment Rate (see 26 U.S.C. 6621(a)(1)). Computation methods for applying the rate of interest are found in 5 CFR 550.806. (b) For non-veterans' preference eligible employees, the rate of interest is calculated using the Federal Judgment Rate (see 28 U.S.C. 1961). (2) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Interest is paid at the Internal Revenue Code Overpayment Rate (see 26 U.S.C. 6621(a)(1)). Computation methods for applying the rate of interest are found in 5 CFR 550.806. (3) National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Interest is paid at the Federal Judgment Rate (see 28 U.S.C. 1961). (4) Court Settlements. Interest is paid at the Federal Judgment Rate (see 28 U.S.C. 1961). (5) Grievance Settlements. Interest is paid at the Federal Judgment Rate (see 28 U.S.C. 1961).
Exhibit 436.63a Interest on Back Pay Decisions
Exhibit 436.63b Interest on Back Pay Settlements
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ELM REVISION Quality Step IncreasesEffective October 30, 2003, Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) 474.241, Comparison to Regular Within-Grade Increases (under Quality Step Increase), is revised to clarify the determination of the step and next step date for a quality step increase (QSI) action. We will incorporate these revisions into the next printed version of the ELM and also into the online version, available on the Postal ServiceTM PolicyNet Web site; go to http://blue.usps.gov; click on More References, and then Manuals. It is also available on the Internet; go to www.usps.com; click on About USPS & News, then on Browse All Periodicals & Publications, and then on Manuals (either PDF Format or Text Format). Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) * * * * * 4 Pay Administration * * * * * 470 Incentive Awards and Service Recognition * * * * * 474 Awards for Career Bargaining Unit Employees Only * * * * * 474.2 Quality Step Increase * * * * * 474.24 Comparisons 474.241 Comparison to Regular Within-Grade Increases [Revise 474.241 to read as follows:] A QSI requires exceptional authorization by management and is always in addition to regular pay adjustments (such as general increases, cost of living adjustments, and/or regular within-grade increases) required by the labor contracts. Any employee below the highest step is eligible to receive a QSI. A bargaining unit employee cannot receive more than one QSI in any 52-week period (see ELM 474.22). A QSI, once filed on Form 1727, Award Recommendation/Authorization, may result in an advancement of either one or two steps, as determined by the procedure described below. The QSI may also change the due date for advancement to the next higher step. The step and next step date for the QSI action are determined as follows: a. If the number of weeks served before the QSI is greater than the number of weeks that would be required to progress from the QSI step to the next step, the employee is actually advanced two steps as the result of the QSI. The next step date is then set to allow for a complete waiting period following the QSI. Example: Before the QSI, Joseph completed 38 weeks in Step I in RSC M. The labor contract requires 34 weeks to progress from step J to K. Because the time served in step I is greater than the time required to progress from step J to K, Joseph is given an additional step and placed directly into step K as the result of the QSI. He then must wait the full contractual period (34 weeks) before he reaches the next step, step L. b. If the number of weeks served before the QSI is less than or equal to the number of weeks required to progress from the QSI step to the next step, the employee is advanced only a single step. The next step date is then determined by subtracting the waiting period weeks required by the labor contract to progress from the QSI step to the next step by the weeks already served before the QSI. Example: Before the QSI, Joseph completed 22 weeks in Step I in RSC M. The labor contract requires 34 weeks to progress from step J to step K. Because the time served in step I is less than the time required to progress from step J to K, Joseph is advanced just a single step, to step J, as the result of the QSI. The next step is determined by taking the waiting period required between steps J and K (34 weeks) and subtracting from it the weeks served in step I before the QSI (22 weeks). The next step, to step K, occurs 12 weeks after the QSI (34 weeks - 22 weeks = 12 weeks). * * * * *
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