Employees

ELM REVISION

Insufficient Pay to Cover Optional Insurance Withholdings

Effective immediately, the Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) 533.225, Insufficient Pay to Cover Optional Insurance Withholdings, is revised in accordance with current accounting practices. Item a, a list of withholdings that shows the order of priority of deduction, is eliminated. Items b and c are changed to a and b, respectively.

Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM)

* * * * *

5 Employee Benefits

* * * * *

530 Life Insurance Program

* * * * *

533 Cost, Payment, Withholdings

* * * * *

533.2 Optional Insurance

* * * * *

533.22 Withholdings

* * * * *

533.225 Insufficient Pay to Cover Optional Insurance Withholdings

[Revise 533.225 to add introductory line. Delete item a. Renumber current items b and c as new a and b.]

The following provisions apply:

a. Termination of Insurance. Employees who become ineligible for optional insurance have their coverage terminated at the end of the pay period in which the employing office determines that the employee's periodic pay, after all deductions, is insufficient to cover the full cost of the optional insurance. This determination is made when it is expected that, during the next 6 months, the employee's regular pay (after other deductions) will be insufficient to provide the total required withholdings for the optional insurance for at least 50 percent of the pay periods.

b. Canceling Nonmandatory Deductions. Employees may cancel or reduce other nonmandatory deductions from pay in order to increase their net pay to provide the total required withholdings for the optional insurance.

* * * * *

We will incorporate these revisions into the next printed version of the ELM and into the online version, available on the Postal ServiceTM PolicyNet Web site:

• Go to http://blue.usps.gov.

• Under "Essential Links" in the left-hand column, click on References.

• Under "References" in the right-hand column, under "Policies," click on PolicyNet.

• Click on Manuals for the ELM.

(The direct URL for the Postal Service PolicyNet Web site is http://blue.usps.gov/cpim.)

The ELM is also available on the Internet:

• Go to www.usps.com.

• Click on About USPS & News, then Forms and Publications, and then Postal Periodicals and Publications, and then Manuals for the Employee and Labor Relations Manual.

— Compensation,
Human Resources, 6-8-06

ELM REVISION

Return to Duty After Occupational Illness or Injury

Effective immediately, Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) 865.1, Certification Required: All Bargaining Unit Employees and Those Nonbargaining Unit Employees Returning From Non-FMLA Absences, is revised to restore a paragraph mistakenly omitted from ELM 17, dated July 2002. The paragraph is placed at the end of 865.1

Until the changes described in the article are incorporated into the online version of the ELM, use this article to implement the changes.

Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM)

* * * * *

8 Safety and Health

* * * * *

860 Medical and Occupational Health Services

* * * * *

865 Return to Duty After Absence for Medical Reasons

865.1 Certification Required: All Bargaining Unit Employees and Those Nonbargaining Unit Employees Returning From Non-FMLA Absences

[Revise 865.1 to read as follows:]

Return-to-work clearance may be required for absences due to an illness, injury, outpatient medical procedure (surgical), or hospitalization when management has a reasonable belief, based upon reliable and objective information, that:

a. The employee may not be able to perform the essential functions of his or her position, or

b. The employee may pose a direct threat to the health or safety of him/herself or others due to that medical condition.

In making this determination, management must consider the essential functions of the employee's job, the nature of the medical condition or procedure involved, guidance from the occupational health nurse administrator, occupational health nurse, and/or the Postal Service's physician regarding the condition or procedure involved, and any other reliable and objective information to make an individualized assessment whether there is a reason to require the return- to-work documentation.

In cases of occupational illness or injury, the employee will be returned to work upon certification from the treating physician, and the medical report will be reviewed by a medical officer or contract physician as soon as possible thereafter.

* * * * *

We will incorporate this revision into the next printed version of the ELM and into the online update, available on the Postal ServiceTM PolicyNet Web site:

• Go to http://blue.usps.gov.

• Under "Essential Links" in the left-hand column, click on References.

• Under "References" in the right-hand column, under "Policies," click on PolicyNet.

• Click on Manuals.

(The direct URL for the Postal Service PolicyNet Web site is http://blue.usps.gov/cpim.)

It is also available on the Postal Service Internet:

• Go to www.usps.com.

• Click on About USPS and News, then Forms and Publications, then Postal Periodicals and Publications, and then Manuals for the Employee and Labor Relations Manual.

— Health and Resource Management,
Employee Resource Management, 6-8-06

SAFETY TALK

Schools Are Out — Defensive Driving Is No Accident

A defensive driver is one who commits no driving errors and makes allowances for the lack of skill or improper practices of others. A defensive driver compensates for unusual weather, road, and traffic conditions and is not tricked by others' failure to do so. Alert to accident-inducing situations, he or she recognizes in advance the need for preventive action and knows when it is necessary to slow down, stop, or yield the right-of-way to avoid an accident.

Be alert so that children don't get hurt

School bells are now silent and millions of youngsters will be in the neighborhoods during the time we deliver mail. For Postal ServiceTM drivers, this means more possibilities of unwary young pedestrians wandering into roadways or darting from between cars or hidden places. This is a true test of anyone's defensive driving skills!

In spite of all the training children receive at school, and in spite of parental instruction and admonition, some children play in the street. Most dangerous, perhaps, are those who play merely near the street, then suddenly leap out after a ball or to chase a dog.

We know we should be cautious near playgrounds, but we need to take care wherever we drive - and especially in residential areas. Remember the following:

• Always slow down and prepare to stop quickly when you see a ball rolling in the street. A child is likely to be following it.

• Always watch for children coming from all directions when the ice cream vendor starts into the neighborhood.

• Always pay attention to the lone child walking along the street. You are much more likely to overlook a single youngster than a group.

• Always be extremely alert when children (or adults) are on roller skates, skateboards, or roller blades; they can suddenly roll into the street.

• Always watch bicyclists carefully, especially young or novice riders, and give them plenty of room.

• Never back up to redeliver a missed box when mail is out of sequence. Get out of the vehicle, secure it properly, and walk back if you can do so safely.

• Never give mail to children from the vehicle. If children approach, get out of the vehicle and ask them to move away. Double-check around the entire vehicle before proceeding.

Be alert so that pedestrians don't get hurt

And while we're on the subject, this is a good time to talk about pedestrians in general. Here's a fact every driver and pedestrian should know. While fewer than 3 out of 100 accidents involve pedestrians, 3 out of 10 fatalities are pedestrians. In other words, the severity ratio of these accidents is 10 times the frequency ratio. The pedestrian is at a tremendous disadvantage when matched against a moving mass of steel.

I urge all of you to be extra cautious now that school is closed. Let's protect our most precious commodity - our children. Drive defensively at all times and remember that you represent the Postal Service when you get behind the wheel.

Note: The purpose of this safety talk is to generate awareness of child safety in Postal Service-drivers.

— Safety Performance Management,
Employee Resource Management, 6-8-06

NOTICE

Purchasing and Reporting American Express Gift Cheques

The Postal ServiceTM recently entered into an exclusive contract with American Express for the purchase of Gift Cheques. Effectively immediately, no gift checks, cards, or other cash equivalent awards are to be purchased through any other vendor.

American Express Gift Cheques are available in $100 denominations. Please note that Gift Cheques can be issued only as cash equivalent recognition awards, and they must be reported in eAwards.

Planning is underway to make the Gift Cheques available via eBuy. Until the eBuy process is in place, use the following ordering and payment procedures:

Interim Approved Ordering Officials

District and area Finance managers are designated as the individuals who may order Gift Cheques via the American Express EZ-order Web site for their district or area.

Headquarters vice presidents are asked to designate one Postal Career Executive Service (PCES) manager as the ordering official for their group if they wish to order during the interim period, and forward the name to Julie Moore or Rich Peterson at Headquarters Compensation. Compensation will forward the names of approved ordering officials to American Express. All approved ordering officials will receive, via e-mail, a user ID and password for access to the Web site and instructions on how to place orders. Finance offices are responsible for alerting Compensation when approved ordering officials need to be replaced.

The San Mateo Accounting Service Center (ASC) manager has the authority to approve a PS Form 8230, Authorization for Payment, requesting payment to American Express of more than $10,000.

Interim Ordering Process

1. The requesting office initiates an order by preparing an off-catalog eBuy requisition, listing the name of the approved ordering official (the Finance manager or designated PCES manager) as the last ad hoc approver on the requisition.

2. The approved ordering official orders the Gift Cheques via the EZ-order Web site.

3. American Express sends an order confirmation to the requesting office and mails the Gift Cheques to the mailing address indicated on the order.

4. The requesting office notifies the approved ordering official once the Gift Cheques are received.

5. The approved ordering official reconciles orders and receipts monthly and alerts American Express when orders have not been received.

Interim Payment Process

1. Once an order is placed, American Express sends an invoice to the requesting office.

2. When the requesting office receives the Gift Cheques, it sends the invoice along with a properly completed PS Form 8230 to the San Mateo ASC Scanning and Imaging Center.

3a. For orders up to $10,000, San Mateo ASC receives and reviews the invoice and PS Form 8230, then issues payment to American Express.

3b. For orders of $10,000 or more, the San Mateo ASC manager receives and reviews the invoice and PS Form 8230 and, if appropriate, authorizes payment. The San Mateo ASC issues payment to American Express.

Process for Reporting American Express Gift Cheques in eAwards

Once awards have been made, the requesting office reports each American Express Gift Cheque in eAwards as the appropriate cash equivalent award.

— Compensation,
Human Resources, 6-8-06