(a)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the provisions of chapter 75 of title 5 shall apply to officers and employees of the Postal Service except to the extent of any inconsistency with—

(A) the provisions of any collective-bargaining agreement negotiated on behalf of and applicable to them; or

(B) procedures established by the Postal Service and approved by the Civil Service Commission.

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(2) The provisions of title 5 relating to a preference eligible (as that term is defined under section 2108(3) of such title) shall apply to an applicant for appointment and any officer or employee of the Postal Service in the same manner and under the same conditions as if the applicant, officer, or employee were subject to the competitive service under such title. The provisions of this paragraph shall not be modified by any program developed under section 1004 of this title or any collective-bargaining agreement entered into under chapter 12 of this title.

(3) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to those individuals appointed under sections 202, 204, and 1001(c) of this title.

(4)(A) Subchapter II of chapter 75 of title 5 shall apply—

(i) to any preference eligible in the Postal Service who is an employee within the meaning of section 7511(a)(1)(B) of such title; and

(ii) to any other individual who—

(I) is in the position of a supervisor or a management employee in the Postal Service, or is an employee of the Postal Service engaged in personnel work in other than a purely nonconfidential clerical capacity; and

(II) has completed 1 year of current continuous service in the same or similar positions.

(B)(i) The second sentence of paragraph (2) of this subsection applies with respect to the provisions of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, to the extent that such provisions relate to preference eligibles.

(ii) The provisions of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall not, to the extent that such provisions relate to an individual under clause (ii) of such subparagraph, be modified by any program developed under section 1004 of this title.

(b)(1) Except as provided under paragraph (2), section 5941 of title 5 shall apply to the Postal Service. Except as provided under paragraph (2), for purposes of section 5941 of that title, the pay of officers and employees of the Postal Service shall be considered to be fixed by statute, and the basic pay of an employee shall be the pay (but not any allowance or benefit) of that officer or employee established in accordance with the provisions of this title.

(2) On and after the date of enactment of the Non-Foreign Area Retirement Equity Assurance Act of 2009—

(A) the provisions of that Act and section 5941 of title 5 shall apply to officers and employees covered by section 1003(b) and (c) whose duty station is in a nonforeign area; and

(B) with respect to officers and employees of the Postal Service (other than those officers and employees described under subparagraph (A)) of ¹ section 1916(b)(2) of that Act shall apply.

(c) Officers and employees of the Postal Service shall be covered by subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, relating to compensation for work injuries.

(d)(1) Officers and employees of the Postal Service (other than the Governors) shall be covered by chapters 83 and 84 of title 5. The Postal Service shall withhold from pay and shall pay into the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund the amounts specified in or determined under such chapter 83 and subchapter II of such chapter 84, respectively. The Postal Service shall pay into the Federal Retirement Thrift Savings Fund the amounts specified in or determined under subchapters III and VII of such chapter 84.

(2) The provisions of subsections (i) and (m)(2) of section 8344 and subsections (f) and (j)(2) of section 8468 of title 5 shall apply with respect to the Postal Service. For purposes of so applying such provisions—

(A) any reference in such provisions to the head of an Executive agency shall be considered a reference to the Postmaster General; and

(B) any reference in such provisions to an employee shall be considered a reference to an officer or employee of the Postal Service.

(e) Sick and annual leave, and compensatory time of officers and employees of the Postal Service, whether accrued prior to or after commencement of operations of the Postal Service, shall be obligations of the Postal Service under the provisions of this chapter.

(f) Compensation, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment in effect immediately prior to the effective date of this section, whether provided by statute or by rules and regulations of the former Post Office Department or the executive branch of the Government of the United States, shall continue to apply to officers and employees of the Postal Service, until changed by the Postal Service in accordance with this chapter and chapter 12 of this title. Subject to the provisions of this chapter and chapter 12 of this title, the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 85 and chapters 87, 89, 89A, and 89B of title 5 shall apply to officers and employees of the Postal Service, unless varied, added to, or substituted for, under this subsection. No variation, addition, or substitution with respect to fringe benefits shall result in a program of fringe benefits which on the whole is less favorable to the officers and employees than fringe benefits in effect on the effective date of this section, and as to officers and employees for whom there is a collective-bargaining representative, no such variation, addition, or substitution shall be made except by agreement between the collective-bargaining representative and the Postal Service.