Customer Relations

FAST Deployment on Hold in Areas Affected by Hurricane Katrina

Facility Access and Shipment Tracking (FAST) was initially scheduled to deploy on August 29, 2005, in facilities in the New Orleans Area. Due to Hurricane Katrina, we have indefinitely moved the activation dates for these facilities. The facilities include Houma, Mandeville, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Monroe, and Alexandria. Our thoughts are with those affected by this disaster.

FAST National Deployment

FAST is now active in the New York Metro, Northeast, Eastern, Pacific, Southwest Areas and in part of the Western Area. The remainder of the Western Area and the Capitol Metro, Great Lakes, and Southeast Areas will be deployed in the next 2 months.

As we have moved through deployment, we have had to adjust the drop site keys on the national deployment schedule (e.g., collocated plants and delivery units and annexes). Facilities have now activated the correct drop site keys. The deployment schedule is updated weekly on RIBBS to include corrected drop site keys. For the current FAST deployment schedule, go to RIBBS at: http://ribbs.usps.gov and click on FAST/Surface Visibility.

Customer Training

The FAST team has scheduled a training session in Louisville, Kentucky, on October 6, 2005. Additional classes may be scheduled in the future. Training registration forms are available on RIBBS. E-mail your questions about FAST training to: FAST_Training@usps.gov.

FAST ID Information

To use FAST, all drop shippers, including those who make appointments by telephone, must register for a FAST ID through PostalOne! at www.usps.com/postalone. Customers who already have a PostalOne! account and need access to FAST must register by calling the PostalOne! Customer Care Center at 800-522-9085. Detailed instructions on the FAST/PostalOne! registration process are available on RIBBS. Once a facility starts scheduling appointments in FAST, it will need a FAST ID to make drop shipments.

Customers must also log on to FAST within 7 days of receiving their IDs. FAST IDs that are not used within 7 days of issue will become inactive and will require a telephone call to the PostalOne! help desk for activation.

Recurring Appointment Submission

All drop shippers who currently have recurring appointments must reapply using PS Form 6241, Recurring Appointment Request, available at http://www.usps.com/forms/allforms.htm; click on PS Form 6241. To submit a request, the customer must first have a scheduler ID. Submit recurring appointment requests to the Postal ServiceTM 3 weeks before the facility's scheduling start date. Recommended due dates for recurring appointment request submissions are given in the FAST deployment schedule posted on RIBBS.

When filling out PS Form 6241, if the mailing contents contain more than one mail shape (processing category) or mail class, then complete multiple copies of lines C1 through C6 and attach them with the request. Only one mail class (section C1) and one processing category (section C2) should be checked on each form.

— Logistics Systems,
Operations, 9-29-05

Mail Alert

The mailings below will be deposited in the near future. Offices should honor the requested delivery dates. Mailers wishing to participate in these alerts, for mailings of 1 million pieces or more, should contact Business Service Network Integration at 202-268-3258 at least 1 month preceding the requested delivery dates. The Postal ServiceTM also offers electronic Mail Alerts via ADVANCE. For more information, see the ADVANCE Notification & Tracking System Technical Guide on the Internet at http://www.ribbs.usps.gov/files/advance/ADVTECH.PDF or contact the National Customer Support Center at 800-458-3181.

— Business Service Network Integration, Customer Service, 9-29-05

NOTICE

How to Comply With Requests From Persons With Disabilities Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires that programs and activities provided by the Postal ServiceTM must not discriminate against anyone on the basis of disability. Note that it is programs and activities, not Postal Service facilities, that must meet this standard. Issues regarding requirements for architectural retrofits to achieve accessibility to Postal Service facilities are governed by the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). The Postal Service's regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act are found at 39 C.F.R. 255. (The direct URL is http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_04/
39cfr255_04.html.) Section 504 applies to members of the public.

Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act applies to employees, and information on that section is available on the Postal Service Law Department's Web site under "Reasonable Accommodation." (The direct URL is http://blue.usps.gov/uspslaw/General/PracticeAreas/
ReasonableAccomm/).

Who qualifies as an individual with a disability?

A person with a disability is anyone who:

• Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of that person's major life activities;

• Has a record of such an impairment; or

• Is regarded as having such an impairment.

What do you have to do in order to comply?

You should alert the local postmaster or other manager when a customer complains that a Postal Service program or activity is not available to him or her on a nondiscriminatory basis due to a disability. The local postmaster or other manager must offer the complainant a reasonable solution to the problem. The best and fastest way to solve the problem is at the local level.

What constitutes a solution?

There are many options available to you to solve a particular accessibility complaint under Section 504. First, establish whether or not the requirements of the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) apply. For example, if a person with a disability complains that the entrance to your facility requires a ramp and there is none, contact your district manager, who will in turn contact the appropriate Facilities Service Office (FSO) to determine whether the ABA standards require the installation of a ramp. If so, the district manager should make arrangements with the FSO to install a ramp. Often, however, a ramp or other architectural solution is not required by the ABA. Even though not required by law, if it is determined that (1) the installation of a ramp or the removal of some other architectural barrier is the best way to solve the problem, and (2) it is consistent with efficient operations, then the Postal Service can make a "discretionary retrofit." The criteria to be considered for a discretionary retrofit are found at 39 C.F.R. 255.8.

Most of the time making programs and activities accessible to persons with disabilities will not involve an architectural retrofit. The local Postal Service manager should assess the situation and try to resolve it by offering a special arrangement. See 39 C.F.R. 255.7.

Examples of special arrangements include the following:

• Alternative services, such as the following:

• Meeting the customer in the parking lot to provide the required services.

• Providing curbside or door delivery, if not normally provided (see Postal Operations Manual section 631.42 for procedures and guidelines for changes in delivery for hardship cases).

• Offering stamps by mail and other similar programs.

• Providing retail services from rural carriers.

• Auxiliary aids, such as the following:

• Hearing aids.

• Interpreters.

• Special privileges, such as allowing use of the employee restroom.

• Any other reasonable solution that is not dangerous (for example, a person with disabilities should not be allowed to use the loading dock ramp to gain access).

If necessary, you should consult with your district or area manager before offering a solution. A complainant is not required to make use of the special arrangement offered, but if the complainant refuses to accept the proffered solution, the Postal Service is not obligated to make other special arrangements. On the other hand, the complainant is entitled to challenge the adequacy of the offered solution in court, and the Postal Service will have to defend that particular solution as adequate.

What are the procedures for handling a complaint by a member of the public?

The initial complaint by a member of the public may be made orally or in writing and is considered to be an informal

complaint. It is important to note the date that the complaint (either oral or written) is received, because that date triggers important complaint procedure deadlines. The complainant must exhaust the administrative procedures presented in the following paragraphs before filing a formal complaint or seeking redress in court.

If you and the complainant resolve the issue to your mutual satisfaction, then the matter is closed. You should try to resolve the problem, but if you lack the authority to resolve the complaint, or if you cannot come to an agreement, you should promptly refer the complaint to the appropriate manager at the district or area level. At the same time that you refer the complaint, you must inform the complainant and provide the name, address, and phone number of the person who will be handling the complaint.

In any event, within 15 days of receiving the complaint, assuming that the matter is unresolved, you must send the

complainant a written acknowledgement that includes the following:

• The date the informal complaint was filed; and

• A description of the issue(s).

If the matter cannot be resolved within 30 days of its receipt, you must send the complainant a written interim report explaining the following:

• The status of the informal complaint; and

• The proposed resolution.

Next submit your proposed informal decision to the appropriate district manager for review. The district manager forwards the proposed disposition to the area or functional vice president for review and for issuance of a written decision. This review process must be completed and the written decision issued no later than 60 days after receipt of the informal complaint. The written decision to the complainant should contain the following:

• The final disposition of the complaint;

• The reasons for that disposition; and

• A notice that the complainant may challenge an informal decision denying relief in any appropriate forum or by filing a formal complaint with the Vice President and Consumer Advocate. The notice should contain the address of the Vice President and Consumer Advocate and a statement that if the complainant chooses to file a formal complaint, he or she must exhaust the informal complaint procedures before filing suit in any other forum.

If filing a formal complaint before the Vice President and Consumer Advocate, the complainant must file within 30 days of receipt of the informal decision from the area or functional vice president. The Vice President and Consumer Advocate will then process the complaint according to the formal complaint procedures at 39 C.F.R. 255.6(2)(iii)-(iv).

For more information, see the Law Department's Accessibility Web page at http://blue.usps.gov/uspslaw/General/PracticeAreas/Accessibility/. If you require additional assistance, please contact the appropriate field legal office.

— General Counsel, 9-29-05