USPS revises manuals and handbooks: Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM), Handbook PO-101, Administrative Support Manual (ASM) and Postal Operations Manual (POM)
ELM Revision: Management of Post Offices by Postmasters
Effective December 1, 2011, Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM), Part 113, Definitions, is revised to clarify that a postmaster may be responsible for the management of more than one Post Office™ facility, and that the postmaster may assign duties to subordinate personnel, including when the postmaster is not physically present.
Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM)
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1 Organizational Structures
113.3 Organizational Entities
Organization entities include the following:
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[Revise 113.3k as follows:]
k. Post Office – an organizational entity subordinate to a district, and perhaps also an administrative Post Office, managed by a postmaster, with responsibility for customer services, local delivery, the receipt and dispatch of all classes of mail, and in some instances, processing and distribution of mail for other Post Offices in the surrounding geographic area. A postmaster may be responsible for the operation of more than one facility, and duties may be performed by designated subordinate personnel at the direction of the postmaster, including when the postmaster is not physically present.
http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2011/pb22325/html/updt_005.htm
Handbook PO-101 Revision: Management of Post Offices by Postmasters; Definition of Consolidation
Effective December 1, 2011, Handbook PO-101, Postal Service-Operated Retail Facilities Discontinuance Guide, is revised to clarify that a postmaster may be responsible for the management of more than one facility, and that the postmaster may assign duties to subordinate personnel, including when the postmaster is not physically present. This revision of Handbook PO-101 also defines “consolidation,” for purposes of the handbook, as the conversion of a Postal Service–operated retail facility into a contractor-operated retail facility; the conversion of one Postal Service–operated retail facility type to another will no longer constitute a “consolidation” for Handbook PO-101 purposes. Corresponding changes are made to other parts of Handbook PO-101 that deal with consolidations. These revisions correspond to changes to 39 CFR Part 241. For further information, see “Post Office Organization and Administration: Establishment, Classification, and Discontinuance” in Federal Register vol. 76, pages 66184–66187.
Handbook PO-101, Postal Service-Operated Retail Facilities Discontinuance Guide
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112.1 General
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[Delete item d and insert the following after item c:]
The conversion of a Post Office into, or the replacement of a Post Office with, a classified station or classified branch is not a discontinuance action subject to this handbook. A change in the staffing of a Post Office such that it is staffed only part-time by a postmaster, or not staffed at all by a postmaster but instead by another type of USPS employee, is not a discontinuance action subject to this section. Discontinuance actions pending as of December 1, 2011, that pertain to the conversion of a Post Office to another type of USPS-operated facility are no longer subject to this handbook.
http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2011/pb22325/html/updt_010.htm
ASM Revision: Responsibilities of Postmasters
Effective December 1, 2011, the Administrative Support Manual (ASM) is revised to clarify that a postmaster relief/leave replacement or other designee may be scheduled to provide service during hours of the service week when a postmaster is scheduled to work or is working at another Post Office™, in addition to other circumstances specified in ASM 122.1.
Administrative Support Manual (ASM)
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1 Postal Organization
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12 Post Office Functions
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122 Hours of Duty
122.1 Full-Time Offices
[Revise text of 122.1 as follows:]
Postmasters of full-time offices (EAS-11 and above) are scheduled to work a 40-hour workweek. A typical schedule is set at 8 hours, 5 days a week, Monday through Friday. A postmaster relief/leave replacement or other designee is scheduled to relieve the postmaster and to provide service as necessary on the sixth day. However, these postmasters may request from their district managers that they be assigned to a permanent schedule that includes not less than 4 hours on Saturday with equivalent time off on one of the workdays Monday through Friday in the same service week. A postmaster relief/replacement or other designee may also be scheduled to relieve a postmaster and to provide service as necessary during hours of the service week when the postmaster is scheduled to work or is working at another Post Office.
http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2011/pb22325/html/updt_001.htm#ep1471528
POM Revision: Responsibilities of Postmasters
Effective December 1, 2011, the Postal Operations Manual (POM) is revised to clarify that certain duties assigned to postmasters may be performed by subordinate personnel under a postmaster’s supervision. In addition, sections 439.1.d and 439.45 are revised to reflect recent revisions to Handbook PO-101, Postal Service-Operated Retail Facilities Discontinuance Guide.
Postal Operations Manual (POM)
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1 Retail Management
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13 Retail Services at Counters
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139 Nonmailable Matter — Articles and Substances: Special Mailing Rules
139.1 Special Provisions
139.11 Rules and Procedures
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139.116 Authorized Mailability Decisions
[Revise text of 139.116 as follows:]
Postmasters or other designated personnel under a postmaster’s supervision may decide whether articles and substances other than written, printed, or graphic matter are nonmailable and must, where appropriate, refuse to accept for mailing such matter determined to be nonmailable. Where necessary, the Pricing & Classification Service Center (PCSC) should be consulted in determining mailability. If the mailer wants to review the initial decision, the postmaster or designated subordinate personnel must, with the mailer’s consent, refer a sample and send a complete statement of the facts to the PCSC manager. After the manager’s decision is made, further appeal may be made by the mailer under 39 CFR 953, Rules of Practice in Proceedings Relative to Mailability. Postmasters and designated subordinate personnel are authorized to take any steps reasonable and necessary to protect Postal Service employees and equipment from the effects of potentially dangerous, injurious materials or substances found in the mail (see ASM 223.4).
source: USPS Postal Bulletin