ELM Revision: Limited Duty and Rehabilitation Assignments

Effective August 16, 2007, Employee and Labor Rela­tions Manual (ELM) 546.21, Compliance, and 546.23, Types of Appointments, are revised to incorporate the requirement to comply with the collective bargaining agreement for the craft to which the employee who was injured on duty is being reassigned or reemployed.

Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM)

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5 Employee Benefits

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540 Injury Compensation Program

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546 Reassignment or Reemployment of Employees Injured on Duty

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546.2 Collective Bargaining Agreements 546.21 Compliance

[Revise 546.21 to read as follows:]

Reassignment or reemployment under this section must be in compliance with applicable collective bargaining agree­ments and applicable law. Individuals so reassigned or reemployed must receive all appropriate rights and protec­tion under the National Agreement of the craft to which the employee is being reassigned or reemployed. Any such assignment or reemployment must be accomplished through Article 13 of the National Agreement applicable to the craft to which the employee is being reassigned or reemployed.

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546.23 Types of Appointments

[Revise 546.23 to read as follows:]

Types of appointments available include the following:

a. A current full-time career employee may be reas­signed to a full-time career position through Article 13 of the National Agreement applicable to the craft to which the employee is being reassigned or reemployed, if his or her job-related medical condi­tion permits.

b. A current or former part-time flexible career employee may be reassigned or reemployed to a part-time flexible career position through Article 13 of the National Agreement applicable to the craft to which the employee is being reassigned or reem­ployed.

c. A current or former noncareer employee may be reassigned or reemployed to the position held previ­ously or, upon satisfactory demonstration of the abil­ity to meet the job requirements and in accordance with the appropriate collective bargaining agree­ment, may be reassigned or reemployed to another noncareer position or noncompetitively converted to a career position (NOA 501). Approval for conversion actions from noncareer to career must be approved by the manager of Health and Resource Manage­ment at Headquarters prior to any PS Form 50 action.

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

• Go to http://blue.usps.gov.
• Under “Essential Links” in the left-hand column, click on References.
• On the PolicyNet page, click on Manuals.

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

The ELM is also available on the Postal Service Internet:

• Go to www.usps.com.
• Click on About USPS & News, then Forms & Publica­tions, then Postal Periodicals and Publications, and then Manuals.

— Contract Administration (American Postal Workers Union), Labor Relations, 8-16-07