USPS – NPMHU Contract Interpretation Manual
head has authority to approve such requests. An employee need not use up all annual leave before receiving advance sick leave. Sick Leave for Dependent Care: This Memorandum of Understanding enables a bargaining unit employee to use earned sick leave for a new purpose: caring for an ailing family member. An employee's right to Sick Leave for Dependent Care is separate and different from the right to leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. Sick Leave for Dependent Care is a benefit established by the Memorandum of Understanding; FMLA is a federal law affecting almost all employers and employees in this nation. Still, while there are important differences, there are certain similarities. For instance, the definitions of son, daughter, spouse and parent used for Sick Leave for Dependent Care are the same as the FMLA definitions. An employee may take time off to care for the same person under both Sick Leave for Dependent Care and FMLA. Minimum Charge for Leave: The one hundredth of an hour minimum leave usage amount means, for example, that an employee who obtains advance approval for two (2) to three (3) hours of sick leave for a doctor’s appointment and who returns to work and clocks in after two (2) hours and 37 minutes, will be charged only for the amount of sick leave actually used, rounded to the hundredth of an hour. Leave Without Pay: An employee may request unpaid time off --leave without pay (LWOP) -- by submitting a PS Form 3971. If the request for LWOP is for more than 30 days, the application must contain a written statement giving the reason for the requested LWOP absence (ELM, Section 514.51). As a general rule, management may grant LWOP as a matter of administrative discretion. There are certain exceptions concerning disabled veterans, military reservists, members of the National Guard, and employees who request and are entitled to time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), as outlined in ELM, Section 515, Absence for Family Care or Serious Health Condition of Employee. See ELM, Section 514.22 for more information. An employee may use LWOP in lieu of sick or annual when the employee requests and is entitled to time off under ELM 515 or the FMLA. Source: Pre-arbitration Settlement C90C-4Q-C 95048663, dated April 20, 1999. The Memorandum of Understanding Re: LWOP in Lieu of SL/AL, reprinted at the end of this article, establishes that an employee need not exhaust annual leave and/or sick leave before requesting leave without pay. See ELM, Exhibit 514.4(d).
Version 3 – March 2011
Article 10 - Page 19