In the Matter of the Petition by	)	January 8, 1998
					)
JUDITH DABNEY				)
3658 Stewart Lane			)
					)
	at				)
					)
Dumfries, VA  22026-2637		)	P.S. Docket No. DCA 97-307

APPEARANCE FOR PETITIONER:		Judith Dabney
					3658 Stewart Lane
					Dumfries, VA  22026-2637

APPEARANCE FOR RESPONDENT: 		Alfred A. Pope
					Labor Relations Specialist 
					United States Postal Service 
					8409 Lee Highway
					Merrifield, VA 22081-9401

Petitioner, Judith Dabney, filed this Petition after receiving a Notice of Involuntary Administrative Salary Offsets, dated August 18, 1997. The Notice stated the Postal Service's intention to withhold $383.18 from Petitioner's salary to recover a shortage in her flexible credit account, discovered by an audit on July 14, 1997.

Petitioner did not request an oral hearing. By Order dated November 19, 1997, the parties were given until December 8, 1997 to submit any additional documents they wished to have considered.⁽¹⁾ Because Petitioner's copy of this Order was misaddressed, by Order dated December 10, 1997 she was given additional time. Neither party, however, submitted any additional evidence after Respondent's Answer, which was filed on November 17, 1997. The following findings of fact are based on the Petition, as supplemented on October 16, 1997, and by the materials submitted with Respondent's Answer.

1. Petitioner is a clerk at the Jefferson Manor Post Office in Alexandria, Virginia. She has worked in that position since at least May of 1993. (Answer, Ex. 3).

2. Petitioner's account was audited by her supervisor, Mr. Rodriguez, on July 14, 1997. The first count showed a shortage of slightly more than $400, and Petitioner asked for a recount. The recount showed a shortage of $383.18, which Petitioner agreed with by signing the PS Form 3294, Cash and Stamp Stock Count and Summary.⁽²⁾ (Answer, Ex. 2).

The standard for determining an employee's liability in a case such as this provides that employees to whom postal funds and accountable paper are consigned (such as Petitioner) "are held strictly accountable for any loss unless evidence establishes that they followed the postal procedures established when performing their duties." Postal Service Handbook F-1, Post Office Accounting Procedures (November 1996), Section 141. Respondent's burden of proof, in cases of unexplained shortage, is to establish a loss, and to show that Petitioner was accountable for the stock from which the loss occurred. Respondent is not required to prove any specific dereliction, or act of negligence, by Petitioner. When a properly conducted inventory, or audit, shows a stock shortage relative to a previously established balance, this constitutes proof of loss unless other evidence raises sufficient doubt about the accuracy of the inventory or the previously established balance, or otherwise suggests that there may have been no actual loss. In this case there is no such other evidence, and a loss of $383.18 is established. Petitioner does not dispute the fact that she was accountable for the stock in question. Once Respondent has met its burden, the burden shifts to Petitioner to show that she followed established procedures.

Petitioner has presented nothing. In the Petition, she states, ". . . the office has been coming up short all the time," but she does not elaborate, or explain how this relates to her shortage. In her supplemental filing, she says she should not have to pay the shortage "due to the poor security in this building," but submits no evidence to support this statement, or to explain how it relates to her shortage. Respondent has demonstrated that there was a shortage of $383.18 from Petitioner's accountability, and there is no evidence to show that Petitioner followed established procedures. The Petition is denied. Respondent may collect $383.18 from Petitioner's salary.

					Bruce R. Houston
					Chief Administrative Law Judge

1. Because of various procedural delays prior to November 19, 1997, the parties were deemed to have waived the requirement for a decision within sixty days of the Petition being filed.

2. The opening balance for Petitioner's account was $9,179.61, but only $8,796.43 was present.