USPS – NPMHU Contract Interpretation Manual
ARTICLE 11 HOLIDAYS Section 11.1 Holidays Observed The following ten (10) days shall be considered holidays for full-time and part-time regular schedule employees, hereinafter referred to in this Article as “employees": New Year's Day Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday Washington's Birthday Memorial Day Independence Day Labor Day Columbus Day Veterans' Day Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day Section 11.2 Eligibility To be eligible for holiday pay, an employee must be in a pay status the last hour of the employee's scheduled workday prior to or the first hour of the employee's scheduled workday after the holiday. An employee who is working or on approved paid leave is considered to be “in a pay status,” and therefore eligible for holiday leave pay. Only full-time and part-time regular employees receive holiday leave pay. Parttime flexible employees do not. Instead, as explained under Section 11.7, parttime flexible employees are paid at a slightly higher straight-time hourly rate to compensate them for not receiving paid holidays. Question: Can an employee on extended absence use annual or sick leave to ensure eligibility for holiday leave pay? Answer: An employee who is on extended absence may use annual and/or sick leave in conjunction with leave without pay (LWOP) prior to exhausting his or her leave balances, subject to the approval of the leave in accordance with normal procedures. For example, an employee on extended LWOP to conduct union business may utilize annual or sick leave during a pay period, for purposes that include continuing eligibility for health and life insurance benefits and/or protections under Article 6. However, management is not obligated to approve such leave for the last hour of an employee’s scheduled workday prior to and/or the first hour of an employee’s scheduled workday after a holiday.
Version 3 – March 2011
Article 11 – Page 1