Appeal of VINCENT HICKS - P.S. Docket No. DCA 99-455

In the Matter of the Petition by 		)    December 21, 1999
						)
VINCENT HICKS					)
1321 Clay Avenue				)
						)
	at 					)
						)
Bronx, NY 10456-1747 				)    P.S. Docket No. DCA 99-455


APPEARANCE FOR PETITIONER:			Vincent Hicks
						1321 Clay Avenue
						Bronx, NY 10456-1747

APPEARANCE FOR RESPONDENT: 			James Wolahan
						Labor Relations Specialist
						United States Postal Service 
						James A. Farley Bldg., Room 3505 
						421 8th Avenue
						New York, NY 10199-9401

DISMISSAL

Respondent, the United States Postal Service, filed a Motion to Dismiss, stating that an arbitration hearing regarding the debt alleged in this case was held on October 22, 1999, and that the arbitrator issued a decision on November 11, 1999. A copy of that decision is attached to the motion. Section 462.34 of the Postal Service Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) limits access of bargaining unit employees to the Postal Service's Debt Collection Act procedures as follows:

"if an arbitrator opens a hearing on the merits of a grievance concerning any letter of demand, the statutory offset procedures in 452.3 do not apply thereafter, unless the arbitrator makes a ruling of nonarbitrability (see 462.22d) or the Postal Service and the union negotiate a partial settlement of the grievance."

The procedures in section 452.3, referenced above, are those that provide an employee an opportunity for a hearing under the Debt Collection Act before the Postal Service collects an alleged debt by involuntary salary offset. The purpose of these provisions of the ELM is to give employees a choice of initially contesting an alleged debt through either the grievance procedures, or the Debt Collection Act hearing procedures. What the section quoted above means is that, if the arbitration proceeds to a hearing and decision, an employee cannot have a second hearing under the Debt Collection Act.

Petitioner was given an opportunity to reply to the motion but has not done so.⁽¹⁾ The motion is granted and this case is dismissed.

					Bruce R Houston
					Chief Administrative Law Judge

¹ All documents pertinent to this case have been sent by certified mail to the address provided by Mr. Hicks in his Petition. Except for the original Notice of Docketing, all other mailings have been returned unclaimed. Returned documents have then been sent to Mr. Hicks by regular mail. It is Petitioner's responsibility to receive mail delivered to him. He cannot prevent action from being taken on this case by declining to receive mail.