The Postal Service had two payroll errors in recent months that kept carriers from receiving full pay.
The National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA) has filed a national-level grievance after two payroll errors either skipped paying rural carriers or gave them partial pay. The union wants the agency to pay harsh penalties if the payroll system is not modernized and payroll issues continue.
The USPS payroll system programming issue impacted over 52,000 carriers in September. NRLCA President Don Maston said it took multiple pay periods for USPS to correct the amount of back pay and that the adjustments “were not only confusing to the carriers, but often are impossible to determine if they even were paid correctly.”
The second problem, a timekeeping issue, occurred before Thanksgiving and kept 2,200 rural carriers from receiving their normal pay on time.
“If they continue to harm carriers by not paying them correctly and on time, then there needs to be a monetary penalty for each instance that occurs,” the union president said. “Ultimately, getting paid shouldn’t be an issue — certainly not this often, and not in these larger numbers.”
Maston said the penalties would also encourage USPS to modernize its legacy payroll system.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Post Master General Louis DeJoy and USPS officials as they address the rural carrier payroll issue.
- For Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su as her department investigates the payroll glitches.
- For federal legislators as they respond to the rural carriers not receiving their pay.
Sources: Federal News Network, MPR
