3996 Reasons

My last article in the LIMB was about not forgetting to fill out PS form 3996 if you are going to be late in the office or on the street and how you might be required to submit more than one PS form 3996 per day for either auxiliary assistance or to be instructed to take overtime to complete you assignment.

This article is going to give you some of the reasons why you should be filling out PS form 3996 and what you should write down on the form for the reason why:

·       Upside down DPS                     

·       S-999 mail in DPS

·       Delivery Confirmation (# of pieces)

·       Talking to union steward

·       Time spent filling out PS Form 3996

·       Excessive hold mail

·       Route out of adjustment per route inspection

·        Excessive change of address cards

·       Service talk

·       Safety talk

·       Excessive parcels

·       Excessive hot case mail

·       Heat

·       Inclement weather conditions

·       Excessive accountable mail

·       Traffic construction or delays

·       Mail cased from previous afternoon

·       Delivering mail cased by others

·       Deviation for delivery of Express Mail

·       Meeting with management

·       Vehicle breakdown

·       No vehicle available

·       Power outage

·       Fire drill

·       Excessive carrier mark-ups

·       Delivering DPS miss-sorted Mail

·       Upside down FSS

·       FSS out of order

·       Unfamiliar with or new on route

·       Sorting through 3-M mail in the PM

·       New deliveries on route

·       Railroad crossing (if it is a freight train not a commuter train this could take some time)

These are just a few examples of reasons to use on PS form 3996 when you are going to be late due to one of these factors.  You can be very creative with the reason why you will be running late and what to putdown on the PS form 3996.  Remember it is our responsibility to inform management as soon as you know that you cannot do your assignment in eight (8) hours by filling out the form in the morning before you leave for the street and giving it to management for approval.

If you are out on the street and encounter situations that will prevent you from completing your assignment in eight (8) hours you must notify management and make them make the decision on whether to complete your assignment or bring the mail back.   Even if you inform management and management instructs you to complete your assignment and take overtime you still must complete PS form 3996 upon your return to the office.