The Four Overtime Categories
As the beginning of prime-time vacation weeks have started I’ve been receiving many questions regarding the Overtime Desired List (ODL). The questions have all been related to the different categories that carriers have the option to select at the beginning of every new quarter. There are four (4) categories, and you choose the option you want to be on for the quarter; however, you can only pick one. The contract does not allow you to select two or more categories. This article will explain the four (4) different groups.
The four groups are as follows: No Overtime, Work Assignment, ten (10) hour list and the twelve (12) hour list. The No Overtime List means that you do not want to work any overtime on your regularly scheduled day or your Non-Scheduled Day (NSD). However, that does not necessarily mean Management cannot force you to work overtime on certain situations. There are some criteria in which Management can force you to work overtime either on your own assignment on a regularly scheduled day or on another assignment. You could even be forced to work on your NSD as well. I will explain this in further detail below.
The second group is the Work Assignment, this means you are willing to work overtime on your own route on your regularly scheduled day. You are not available / eligible to work overtime on other assignments or your NSD. This category also does not necessarily mean Management cannot force you to work overtime on certain situations. There are some criteria in which Management can force you to work overtime on other assignments on a regularly scheduled day or you could even be forced to work your NSD as well.
The third group is the ten (10) hour list, this means you are available to work overtime up to ten (10) hours per day up to 60 hours per week. This option means you are available to do pieces on another assignment and work your NSD up to ten hours a day. In this category Management can require you to work overtime up to twelve (12) hours in certain situations as well.
The fourth group is the twelve (12) hour list, which means you are available to work up to 12 hours per day up to 60 hours per week. This option means you are available to work on pieces on other assignments and work your NSD up to twelve hours per day.
In the first three categories I wrote there are certain situations where Management can require you to work overtime. I will explain when they can force you to work overtime, and it would not be a violation to the contract based on Article 8 which addresses overtime. For the No Overtime Desired group and the Work Assignment group Management is required to abide by the Letter carrier Paragraph (LCP) also known as the white pages.
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) M-00884 in the NALC Materials Reference System), explains the requirement to seek to use auxiliary assistance before requiring letter carriers not on the ODL or Work Assignment List to work overtime on their own route on a regularly scheduled day. Management must seek to use all of the following to provide auxiliary assistance prior to requiring you to work the overtime:
• Part-time flexibles (PTFs) at the straight time or regular overtime rate
• City carrier assistant (CCA) employees at the straight time or regular overtime rate
• Available full-time regular employees, such as unassigned or reserve regulars at the straight time rate
• Full-time carriers from the Overtime Desired List at the regular overtime rate.
However, the memo states that Management does not have to use ODL carriers to provide you auxiliary assistance if such an assignment would mean that the ODL carriers would be working penalty overtime. In that limited situation—if no auxiliary assistance is available without going into penalty overtime—Management can require the full-time regular carriers not on the ODL to work overtime on their own routes on a regularly scheduled day.
Prior to forcing a Non ODL and Work Assignment carrier to work overtime on another assignment Management must follow Article 8.5G which outlines prior to forcing the above categories to work overtime on another assignment the 10- and 12-hour ODL’s must be maximized up to 12 hours per day. This means Management is required to pay penalty overtime prior to forcing the Non ODL and Work Assignment carriers to work the piece on another assignment. Article 8.5G states in part:
G. Full-time employees not on the “Overtime Desired” list may be required to work overtime only if all available employees on the “Overtime Desired” list have worked up to twelve (12) hours in a day or sixty (60) hours in a service week. Employees on the “Overtime Desired” list: 1. may be required to work up to twelve (12) hours in a day and sixty (60) hours in a service week (subject to payment of penalty overtime pay set forth in Section 4.D for contravention of Section 5.F
National Arbitrator Mittenthal ruled in H4N-NA-C-21, April 11, 1986 (C-05860), that an employee on the ODL does not have the option of accepting or refusing work over eight hours on a non-scheduled day, work over six days in a service week or overtime on more than four of the five scheduled days in a service week; instead an employee on the ODL must be required to work up to 12 hours in a day and 60 hours in a week before management may require employees not on the ODL to work overtime.
If Management requires you to work overtime, I want to emphasize that you are to follow the instruction and if you believe Management has violated the provisions of Article 8 speak to your Shop Steward or Full Time Officer after completing the order to possibly file a grievance on your behalf.
This article is a brief explanation of the scenarios for Article 8 regarding overtime. For further details please review the Joint Contract Administration Manual (JCAM) on the branch website or go to nalc.org. I want to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July and Labor Day.
