As of April 9, 2003, the Denver District has indicated that
"dependability coaches" will cease and desist issuing discipline and/or holding discussions
related to discipline. This directive was based on a National Directive from National USPS HQ.
As of March 28, 2003 the APWU came to a pre-arbitration settlement
concerning the Postal Service's Resource Management Database (RMB) and its web-based enterprise
Resource Management System(eRMS.
The Attendance Control Office (ACO) concept became
the primary point for requesting any type of unscheduled absence. That would include Emergency
Annual Leave (EAL), Sick Leave (SL), Leave WithOut Pay (LWOP), and any designations of being
Absent WithOut Leave (AWOL). The ACO will be the point of contact for
such absences for recording purposes only. There are unresolved issues still in dispute in the
RMB settlement in relation to FMLA absences, but these issues are to be given priority
scheduling in national arbitration. The FMLA Coordinator is still the primary point for approval of FMLA leave, but based on the decisions
presented in the preceding paragraphs, the FMLA Coordinator may not have as much leeway to harass a person
with an FMLA health condition. However, it would behoove you to speak with your supervisor indicating the
problem, if any, with the FMLA Coordinator and approval of FMLA leave. The concept behind FMLA is a "good
faith" effort by both parties to make the program work. In that respect, you need to keep your supervisor,
and the FMLA Coordinator, advised if their are problems in receiving your certification, or re-certification,
forms from your physician, to include, but not limited to, inability to get an appointment within
the prescribed timeframe, ie., 15 days, 7 days, or whatever management designates, inability to get your
certification forms back from the doctor, etc.
With the new National Call-In procedures rolling out, who knows for sure what will happen. Whatever the case may be, keep your supervisor informed. We all know that not all employees are treated alike, nor are all supervisors alike.