Annual Leave Exchange (ALE)
Did you know that the United States Postal Service has an Annual Leave Exchange (ALE) Program available through the LiteBlue website? There is a lot of information on the Blue Page that can help you manage your employment life including a solid plan for retirement. The Annual Leave Exchange Program (ALE) provides that eligible career employees can opt to receive a lump sum payment in exchange for annual leave. You can only exercise this option during Open Season. Employees who are eligible receive the Letter on Annual Leave Exchange annually.
The Annual Leave Exchange program applies to leave that will be earned during the next year. Once you have made the exchange, you are no longer eligible to use the annual leave. There are also other conditions that apply.
Postal employees classified as working full-time and part-time regular career employees that are not a part of a collective bargaining unit can opt to exchange the annual leave they will earn for the next year for cash up to 128 hours. They must also have an annual leave balance of 160 hours at the end of a current leave year.
Under some Collective Bargaining Agreements that cover full-time and part-time regular employees, they must have a leave balance of 440 hours at the end of the leave year. They also must have used less than 75 hours of sick leave during the leave year to qualify to participate in the annual leave exchange program. Upon meeting the qualification requirements, these employees are allowed to exchange up to 40 hours of the annual leave they would earn during the next leave year.
There is also a “Constructive Receipt” clause in the Annual Leave Exchange Program as governed by the Internal Revenue Service. It stipulates that Postal Service employees are not allowed to exchange leave already earned that exceeds the carryover limit for the Postal Service.
Employees that are in a Bargaining Unit have an annual leave limit carryover of 55 days or 440 hours. Those under the Executive and Administrative Schedule have an annual leave limit carryover of 70 days or 560 hours.
There are a number of ways by which Postal Service Employees can make their ALE elections. They may use PostalEase Online, LiteBlue, Blue or one of the many Kiosks designated for employees to conduct business. Postal Service Employees may also use the Self-Service Phone option by calling (877) 477-3273).
Always make certain your contact information is correct and updated on LiteBlue so that you can receive valuable information that will help you make important employment decisions that will also help you retire well in the future.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
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