June 2, 2020
The USPS has issued the below Mandatory Stand-Up Talk for employees.
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Essential services during COVID-19 and recent state and local civil unrest
Three steps to work through government-imposed curfews and other travel restrictions
The Postal Service is continuing normal operations while state and local governments deal with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation and recent civil unrest in a number of communities throughout the United States. Our customers are depending on us, and we are taking unprecedented precautions to stay safe and to continue to deliver for our country.
It’s important to know that the Postal Service is part of the critical infrastructure of this nation, and to clarify that as Postal Service employees, you are providing an essential public service of the federal government for the American people.
This means you are exempt from “curfews,” “lockdown,” “shelter-in-place,” general quarantines, and other restrictions imposed by state and local governments.
Postal Service employees travelling for work in areas with local curfews or travel restrictions should do three things:
One, whenever you travel, carry your Postal Service-issued identification (ID) badge and the Essential Service Provider Letter that I will pass out after we finish this talk. These will provide travel justification in case you are stopped by local or state law enforcement.
Two, if encountered or stopped by state or local law enforcement officials enforcing travel restrictions, show your postal-issued ID and Essential Service Provider Letter to identify yourself as a postal employee or postal contractor.
And three, explain the nature of your work for the Postal Service and the reason why you are travelling, either from home to work, during the workday, or returning home from work.
With this information, the state or local official should allow you to continue with your travel. If you run into any further issues, contact your supervisor. Have your supervisor’s contact information — phone number and email address — with you at all times.
We are working closely with federal, state and local health authorities to ensure that our operations are conducted in a safe manner.
We are in constant communication with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other organizations to help ensure that you and our customers have the latest information regarding COVID-19. And we are in communication with federal, state and local authorities in locations where civil unrest is occurring.
If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19, or are experiencing its symptoms, you should not come to work, and should take leave, which will be liberally approved.
Employees who wish to remain at home under state or local directives can request the use of leave in accordance with applicable postal policies and other federal laws.
If you have questions about COVID-19, there are many resources available on the special COVID-19 pages of our internal website Blue, and our employee website, LiteBlue. In addition, the latest details will always be available on the government’s website, coronavirus.gov.
Finally, I’d like to remind you of our Employee Assistance Program, E.A.P., which is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at 1-800-EAP-4-YOU, (1-800-327-4968). There is also assistance available for the hearing impaired, at 1-877-492-7341. And the E.A.P. website is: www.eap4you.com.
Thank you for listening, and for your professionalism and commitment, and for all you do for our customers, your co-workers, and the Postal Service.
Click here to view/download the “Essential Service Provider Letter” document.