Washington, D.C.
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Fair Labor Standards Act Decision
Under section 204(f) of title 29, United States Code
U.S. Postal Service
Omaha, Nebraska
Damon B. Ford
Acting Classification Appeals and FLSA Claims
Program Manager
Agency Compliance and Evaluation
Merit System Accountability and Compliance
01/12/2021
Date
As provided in section 551.708 of title 5 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), this decision is binding on all administrative, certifying, payroll, disbursing and accounting officials of agencies for which the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) administers the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). There is no right of further administrative appeal. This decision is subject to discretionary review only under conditions and time limits specified in 5 CFR 551.708 (address provided in section 551.710). The claimant has the right to bring an action in an appropriate Federal court if dissatisfied with the decision.
Introduction
On September 10, 2020, OPM received an Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) paid sick leave claim from a Mail Processing Clerk employed with the Omaha Processing and Distribution Center, U.S. Postal Service in Omaha, Nebraska. The claimant seeks to be granted Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) paid sick leave, administrative leave, restoration of annual leave and sick leave, to have leave without pay hours used “in relation to these absences” removed from her pay records, overtime pay, and Sunday premium pay.
Section 5105 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides that employers (such as Federal agencies) who violate the EPSLA paid sick leave provisions shall be considered to have failed to pay minimum wages in violation of the FLSA (29 U.S.C. 206). Therefore, we have accepted and decided the claim for EPSLA paid sick leave under 29 U.S.C. 204(f). After carefully reviewing all of the information of record provided by the claimant, the claim for EPSLA paid sick leave is denied for lack of jurisdiction as further discussed below.
With respect to the claims regarding administrative leave, restoration of annual leave and sick leave, leave without pay hours, overtime pay, and Sunday premium pay, the claims are denied for lack of jurisdiction as further discussed below.
Nature of the claim
The claimant asserts that on June 6, 2020, she left work early experiencing shortness of breath believing she had potentially been exposed to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) by a coworker who tested positive a few days earlier. On June 8, 2020, the claimant was tested for COVID-19, and on June 9, 2020, she received a negative test result. Despite the negative result and the claimant’s intention to “get something in writing” stating she could return to work, she states her Supervisor of Daily Operations told her not to return to work for 10 days. On June 12, 2020, the claimant states she discussed her situation with the Occupational Health Nurse Administrator and was told she could not return to work until June 17, 2020. She asserts that she had to use “[her] own leave to cover this absence” and believes that because she did not end up having COVID-19, she should have been allowed to return to work. The claimant seeks to be granted 10.34 hours Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) paid sick leave for the hours before receiving her COVID-19 test results, 40 hours administrative leave for the days the claimant was told to remain out of work, recredit of the 12 hours of annual leave and 4 hours of sick leave she used, any leave without pay hours used “in relation to these absences” removed from her pay records, 18 hours of overtime pay she alleges she “missed out on”, and Sunday premium pay.
Jurisdiction
OPM administers the FLSA claims program for certain Federal employees under the authority of 29 U.S.C. § 204 (f). However, as stated in that section, the:
Director of the Office of Personnel Management is authorized to administer the provisions of this chapter with respect to any individual employed by the United States (other than an individual employed in the Library of Congress, United States Postal Service, Postal Regulatory Commission, or the Tennessee Valley Authority).
Postal Service employees like the claimant are statutorily excluded from OPM’s FLSA jurisdiction. Therefore, OPM does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate claimant’s EPSLA paid leave claim, and the claim is denied.
Furthermore, OPM does not have authority to investigate or settle claims made against an agency which has independent settlement authority under the law. The applicable law in this case, 39 U.S.C. § 2008(c), authorizes USPS to consider and settle all claims made against it. Therefore, OPM does not have authority to settle claims from current or former USPS employees or to intervene in such matters. Therefore, OPM does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate claimant’s claims regarding administrative leave, restoration of annual leave and sick leave, leave without pay hours, overtime pay, and Sunday premium pay, and the claims are denied.
Decision
The claim is denied based on lack of jurisdiction.