Background
The Postal Service designates overtime hours as any workhours an employee has worked in excess of a standard workday and/or workweek. The Postal Service generally categorizes overtime hours as either regular overtime or penalty overtime. Regular overtime is paid at time and a half to eligible employees, while penalty-overtime is paid to eligible employees at double the employee’s hourly rate under specific conditions spelled out in collective bargaining agreements. Facility management is required to manage overtime hours efficiently, as overtime hours represent a significant cost for the organization. During fiscal years (FY) 2021 through 2024, the Postal Service paid $24.3 billion in total overtime costs.
What We Did
Our objective was to evaluate the Postal Service’s management of overtime hours and assess whether the corrective actions taken in response to prior overtime audits sufficiently addressed the issues identified. For this audit, we analyzed nationwide overtime data and compared actual overtime to planned overtime hours during FY 2021 through FY 2024. We reviewed overtime hours of 20 judgmentally selected facilities and held interviews with headquarters, district/division, and local officials to gain an understanding of the overtime documentation process including unauthorized overtime.
What We Found
Overtime hours have declined from 172.9 million in 2021 to 117.8 million in 2024. Even with this decline, opportunities continue to exist to improve the management of unauthorized overtime in the Time and Attendance Collection System (TACS) and further reduce overtime hours. Specifically, facility management did not always properly identify, categorize, and document regular and penalty overtime transactions in TACS by the end of the pay week, as required. Additionally, although total overtime hours declined by more than 30 percent from 2021 to 2024, the Postal Service used 5.7 million overtime hours, or 5 percent more than originally planned, in FY 2024.
Recommendations and Management’s Comments
We recommended management create and implement a plan to automate the oversight and review process of missing 091 transactions and completion of Postal Service Form 1017-B. Management agreed with the recommendation, and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) considers management’s comments responsive as corrective actions should resolve the issues identified in the report. Postal Service management’s comments and our evaluation are at the end of each finding.
Nothing earth shattering here. In this case, it appears the OIG looked strictly at the numbers and not the underlying causes, which is surprising. One main driver of overtime is what the OIG terms”employee availability,” or call outs. Some plants will let the mail sit, but for the most part OT has to be used to cover call outs in every craft, and let’s face it there’s a lot of them.