Effective November 14, 2024, the Postal Service™ has revised Publication 552, Manager’s Guide to Understanding, Investigating, and Preventing Harassment, to reflect changes to our workplace harassment program and procedures to align with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) MD-715 model EEO program, pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It is the EEOC’s requirement that all allegations of harassment, not just those that require an initial management inquiry (IMI), are responded to within 10 days and documented in the Workplace Environment Tracking System (WETS).
To comply with the requirements, any manager, supervisor or postmaster who receives a report of or when an allegation of workplace harassment is brought to their attention from employees under their supervision, they are required to conduct Steps one (1) and Step two (2) of the process outlined in Publication 552 and complete the Harassment Inquiry form and send it by email to the District Labor Relations for the geographic area.
Also, when an IMI is required, it must be conducted by an employee who has a documented record of completing the “Rapid Response to Harassment” or the advanced instructor led Initial Management Inquiry Process (IMIP) training courses.
The September edition of Publication 552 supersedes the November 2018 edition.
You can access Publication 552 online through the Postal Service PolicyNet website:
n Go to blue.usps.gov.
n In the left-hand column, click Essential Links, and then click PolicyNet.
n Go to the right-hand side under “Published Forms and Directives.”
n Click Publications.
n The direct URL for the Postal Service PolicyNet website is blue.usps.gov/cpim.
The revised publication is in the process of being printed and will be available for ordering through the Material Distribution Center at a later date. Information will be forthcoming in a future Postal Bulletin article.
— Equal Employment Opportunity Office
Postmaster General and CEO, 11-14-24
