Resolution of the National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI) Arbitration Compliance Case

From the national NALC website:

The National Association of Letter Carriers and the Postal Service have reached resolution on a national-level grievance filed by NALC regarding compliance with the June 30, 2025, national-level arbitration decision (the “NACI Award) issued by Arbitrator Margo Newman in USPS Case No. 6X 21C-6X-C-24165358, C-37276. Arbitrator Newman’s national ruling on the National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI) Arbitration held that non-probationary postal employees separated due to unfavorable background check results are entitled to due process and may challenge their removals through the grievance and arbitration procedure.

NALC filed the national-level grievance, case number 6X 23N-6X-C 25507021, claiming the Postal Service failed to abide by the NACI Award by not processing pending grievances pertaining to the matter. In the settlement (M-02015), the parties agree that all pending grievances related to the NACI Award will be processed in accordance with Article 15 of the National Agreement, including the scheduling for arbitration, if necessary. Accordingly, the parties consider the issues raised in case number 6X 23N-6X-C 25507021 to be moot and agree to close this case without prejudice to the position of either party in this or any other matter.

Two Memorandums of Understanding Agreed by the NALC and USPS

The NALC and the Postal Service have agreed to a memorandum of understanding Re: Monetization of Annual Leave (M-02013) in which career employees covered under the NALC agreement may sell back up to eighty (80) hours of annual leave prior to the beginning of the leave year. To qualify for annual leave monetization, employees must meet two criteria: they must be at the maximum annual leave carryover limit at the start of the leave year and must have used fewer than seventy-five (75) hours of sick leave in the previous leave year.

In addition, the national parties have agreed to a MOU Re: Annual Leave Carryover for Leave Year 2026 (M-02014) which increases the maximum allowable annual leave carryover amounts outlined in the Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM). For leave year 2026, regular work force career employees covered by the USPS-NALC National Agreement may carry over 520 hours of accumulated annual leave from leave year 2025 to leave year 2026. The Memorandum, which does not change the provisions in the ELM for payment of accumulated leave, will expire with the conclusion of the 2026 Leave Year.