Blog

Juneteenth National Independence Day

President Biden signed into law Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on June 17, 2021, making June 19 a federal holiday. This new holiday commemorates the final end to slavery in the United States and the Postal Service is fully supportive of annually observing and setting aside a day recognize this historic event.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to cease the operations of the Postal Service to accommodate an observance over the next 24-48 hours. We are part of the nation’s critical infrastructure and our customers are relying on us to deliver our essential services. Closing down operations without providing appropriate time would lead to operational disruption and be a disservice to our customers and those who rely upon us. For that reason , the Postal Service will be operating on June 18 and 19, 2021, on a normal schedule , serving our customers to the best of our ability.
Please immediately communicate our operating status to your employees.

The Postal Service will discuss future recognition of this significant new holiday with our national Unions, Management Associations, and other stakeholders, consistent with our collective bargaining  and consultative obligations under Title 39, Once those discussions take place, we will update you on appropriate developments, but we reiterate that we are fully supportive of this important national holiday.

Doug A. Tulino

To download a PDF copy of this notice, click here.

Now It Is Easier To File FECA COVID Claims

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 that President Biden signed on March 11, 2021, makes it much easier for federal workers diagnosed with COVID-19 to establish coverage under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act. To establish a COVID-19 claim, you simply need to establish that you are a “covered employee,” meaning that:

1. You were diagnosed with COVID-19. Specifically, you were diagnosed with COVID-19 while employed in the Federal service at any time during the period of January 27, 2020 to January 27, 2023; and,
2. Your duties include any risk of exposure. Specifically, within 21 days of your diagnosis of COVID-19, you carried out duties that—

a. required contact with patients, members of the public, or co-workers; or
b. included a risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus.

For more information, and a PDF version of this announcement, click here.

April 2021 Postal Worker West Newsletter

The latest April 2021 edition of the Postal Worker West Newsletter has been published.

The featured article is titled OPM Issues Long Awaited EFEL Guidance.