Please find linked, the: Mandatory Stand-Up Talk re: Emergency Federal Employee Leave (pdf)
The Postal Service wants to help you understand Emergency Federal Employee Leave (EFEL), a new leave category that provides workers with leave related to the coronavirus pandemic. EFEL leave is available to you through Sept. 30, or until the federal fund to reimburse agencies for the cost of this leave is exhausted. All Emergency Federal Employee Leave is conditional on money being available in the fund to reimburse the Postal Service for the cost of leave.
You must substitute with other available paid leave, or use leave without pay, to repay the Postal Service for the cost of any Emergency Federal Employee Leave hours for which it is not reimbursed. You should also know that your Emergency Federal Employee Leave hours will be subtracted from the creditable service used to compute your federal civilian retirement annuities.
The law imposes limits on the amount of this emergency leave an employee may take, and on the compensation an employee may receive in a single pay period for Emergency Federal Employee Leave hours.
The qualifying reasons include seeking a medical diagnosis when suffering from COVID-19 symptoms, quarantining or isolating under a medical provider’s orders, and others. To find the full list of qualifying reasons, go to the COVID-19 Employee Resources page on LiteBlue, and review the list on the Employee Notification and Leave Request Form.
Postal employees who are seeking to use Emergency Federal Employee Leave must submit three separate forms:
- PS Form 3971, Request for or Notification of Absence, indicating Emergency Federal Employee Leave and for which of the qualifying reasons they must take leave;
- COVID-19 Emergency Federal Employee Leave Employee Notification and Leave Request Form;and
- Employee Agreement in Connection with Emergency Federal Employee Leave, provided under Section 4001 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Any employee who has used Emergency Federal Employee Leave prior to being notified of the document requirements is required to supply the above documents retroactively.
For more information about Emergency Federal Employee Leave — including the forms you’ll need to complete — go to the COVID-19 Employee Resources page on LiteBlue. You’ll need your employee identification number and password to log in. You can find the Emergency Federal Employee Leave page by looking under Hot Topics on the LiteBlue home page.
Please disseminate this information, as you deem appropriate and should you have any questions, or comments and/or suggestions regarding the above, please contact this office or forward your responses to the Contract Administration Department.
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