June 2, 2008

 

In the Matter of the Petition by                                   

                                                                                                                                  

BARBAREE A. KHALEES                                                   

                       

 P.S. Docket No. AO 07-430

 

APPEARANCE FOR PETITIONER:         

William Brown                                                    

Scialla Associates, Inc.                               

 

APPEARANCE FOR RESPONDENT:     

Mark E. Dennett, Esq.                                                                                 

Tampa Law Department                                                                 

United States Postal Service

and

Thomas Boyle

Labor Relations Specialist

United States Postal Service

 

     

POSTAL SERVICE DECISION

 

            Petitioner, Barbaree A. Khalees, has filed an appeal from an Initial Decision of an Administrative Law Judge that holds Petitioner is indebted to the Postal Service in the amount of $26,161.36 for overpayment of sick and annual leave when her sick leave was converted to leave without pay after Petitioner failed to provide proper documentation for an extended absence.  Petitioner has filed a timely appeal. 

Petitioner has not shown that the Initial Decision is clearly erroneous or that any other grounds exist for the Judicial Officer to exercise his discretion to grant review of the decision and relieve her of the debt alleged by the Postal Service.  On appeal, Petitioner repeats her argument that the last phrase of Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) §513.363[1] can properly be interpreted to allow a supervisor with knowledge of an employee's medical condition to approve extended sick leave without any documentation being provided at any time.  As found by the Administrative Law Judge, ELM §513.363 must be read in connection with the other ELM rules, which not only require documentation (ELM §513.362), but specifically permit the Postal Service to convert any undocumented sick leave to leave without pay for a failure to provide the proper documentation (ELM §513.65).  Petitioner has not shown that she was excused from providing the proper documentation by her previous supervisors or that she provided the proper documentation when requested to do so by her then current supervisor.  We can find no error in the Administrative Law Judge's determination that Petitioner is liable for the debt.

Accordingly, Petitioner’s appeal is denied, and Respondent may begin to collect $26,161.36, from Petitioner. 

 

 

 

 

William A. Campbell

Judicial Officer

 


[1]  Employee and Labor Relations Manual §513.363, Extended Periods, reads in pertinent part that "[e]mployees who are on sick leave for extended periods are required to submit at appropriate intervals, but not more frequently than once every 30 days, satisfactory evidence of continued incapacity to work…unless some responsible supervisor has knowledge of the employee's continuing situation."