Involuntary Reassignments—Again?

Involuntary Reassignments—Again?
By John Aceves
Former NAPS Secretary/Treasurer

I hope everyone had a great holiday and safe and happy New Year’s.

The threat of being reassigned from your EAS Form 50 awarded position affects you in several ways.

You might have applied for a specific job position because it’s close to home, your children’s school, spouse’s job or other reasons. Suddenly, someone in senior leadership wants to move or reassign you from the position for which you applied for a justifiable operational reason or, sometimes, for pure spite.

Either way, this is what I call a “constructed involuntary reassignment.” It’s amazing how one USPS document takes on different interpretations at local levels.

Different USPS senior managers may have signed these USPS Headquarters Involuntary Reassignment Position letters, but they explicitly outline the process. There are letters dating back to 1999 with the most current being a 2015 letter on involuntary reassignments.

In addition to these letters, there are other USPS Headquarters letters on requirements for EAS vacancy announcements, such as duty station, non-scheduled days off and hours of work. EL-12, Section 743.17, is extremely specific on EAS job-posting requirements.

In my NAPS travels, I have been given excuses by some who are trying to rationalize or justify the involuntary reassignment, such as “We are trying to right size, right place or better fit the office,” or “We can do this.” But the most outrageous excuse has been, “USPS Headquarters policy letters on this subject do not apply to us locally.”

My quick response to that was, “The last time I looked at the sign outside on the postal building, it said ‘USPS’—not the person’s name who is using this excuse.” If USPS Headquarters is writing the rules and regulations, local leadership should at least follow them.

Keep in mind if you are moved from your assigned position, Form 1723 should be used and your TACS time reflects your duty schedule. You do not want to receive compensation for workhours for which you do not qualify.

An example is getting night differential while working Tour 2, which could place you in a debt collection arena. ELM 450 has the specifics and appeal process on collection of monies owed by an employee the USPS deems not entitled.

If you make some type of agreement or deal to be moved from your Form 50 position, be careful what you ask for; you may not be able to rectify the situation. Take time to look through your Form 50 on eOPF to make sure your information is correct and that no one has stealthily changed your awarded position location. There are many moving parts when addressing or appealing a “constructed” (my term) involuntary reassignment.

Get familiar with the topic of involuntary reassignments; attend your local branch meetings. There also is information on the NAPS website on this topic. I highly recommend you attend training at NAPS local, state, area or regional training events when the topic of involuntary reassignments is on the agenda.

Hasta luego.