B-57989, AUGUST 5, 1946, 26 COMP. GEN. 87

B-57989, AUGUST 5, 1946, 26 COMP. GEN. 87

POSTAL SERVICE EMPLOYEES - TRIWEEKLY RURAL CARRIERS - ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION UNDER ACT OF MAY 21, 1946 A RURAL CARRIER SERVING ONE TRIWEEKLY ROUTE, WHO IS COMPENSATED PURSUANT TO SECTION 17 (C) OF THE POSTAL SERVICE PAY STATUTE OF JULY 6, 1945, ON THE SAME BASIS AS A FULL TIME RURAL CARRIER SERVING A ROUTE ONE-HALF THE LENGTH OF THAT SERVED BY THE TRIWEEKLY CARRIER, AND NOT ON THE BASIS OF ONE-HALF THE COMPENSATION PAYABLE FOR A SIX-DAY ROUTE OF EQUAL LENGTH, IS ENTITLED TO THE FULL $400 PER ANNUM ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION AUTHORIZED BY SECTION 1 OF THE ACT OF MAY 21, 1946. 25 COMP. GEN. 823, AMPLIFIED.

COMPTROLLER GENERAL WARREN TO THE POSTMASTER GENERAL, AUGUST 5, 1946:

I HAVE YOUR LETTER OF JULY 15, 1946, REFERENCE 50, AS FOLLOWS:

AS A RESULT OF INQUIRIES RECEIVED FROM POSTMASTERS, THERE HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION AN APPARENT INCONSISTENCY IN THE WORDING OF QUESTION 2 OF MY LETTER OF MAY 22, 1946, WHICH WAS THE BASIS FOR YOUR DECISION OF MAY 29, 1946 (B-57989) WITH RESPECT TO THE APPLICABILITY OF PUBLIC LAW 386.

THE WORDS "THUS RECEIVING BENEFIT UNDER THIS ACT TO THE EXTENT OF $200 PER ANNUM" IN QUESTION 2 OF MY LETTER OF MAY 22 ARE NOT CONSISTENT WITH THOSE IN THE PRECEDING PORTION OF THE QUESTION AND OBVIOUSLY WERE BASED UPON THE ERRONEOUS THEORY THAT A RURAL CARRIER SERVING ONE TRI-WEEKLY ROUTE IS ENTITLED TO A SALARY ONE-HALF OF THAT PAYABLE FOR A SIX-DAY-PER- WEEK ROUTE OF EQUAL LENGTH.

UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 17 (C) OF PUBLIC LAW 134 A RURAL CARRIER SERVING ONE TRI-WEEKLY ROUTE SHALL BE PAID A SALARY ON THE BASIS OF A ROUTE ONE-HALF THE LENGTH OF THE ROUTE SERVED BY HIM. FOR EXAMPLE, A RURAL CARRIER SERVING A TRI-WEEKLY ROUTE 60 MILES IN LENGTH IS ENTITLED TO THE SALARY PAYABLE FOR A SIX-DAY-PER-WEEK ROUTE 30 MILES IN LENGTH. PUBLIC LAW 386 HAD THE EFFECT OF INCREASING BY $400 THE ANNUAL SALARY PAYABLE TO A CARRIER ON A SIX-DAY-PER-WEEK 30-MILE ROUTE, AND ON THIS BASIS IT APPEARS THAT A CARRIER ON A TRI-WEEKLY ROUTE SHOULD RECEIVE AN ANNUAL INCREASE OF A LIKE AMOUNT.

IT OBVIOUSLY WOULD SEEM DISCRIMINATORY TO INCREASE THE SALARY OF A CARRIER ON A SIX-DAY-PER-WEEK ROUTE 6 MILES IN LENGTH TO THE EXTENT OF $400 PER ANNUM AND LIMIT TO $200 THE INCREASE PAYABLE TO A CARRIER ON A TRI-WEEKLY ROUTE 60 MILES IN LENGTH, WHO APPARENTLY SHOULD BE PAID ON THE BASIS OF A SIX-DAY-PER-WEEK ROUTE 30 MILES IN LENGTH.

YOU EXPRESSED CONCURRENCE WITH THE TENTATIVE INTERPRETATION OF THIS DEPARTMENT THAT ALL BASE ANNUAL SALARIES SPECIFIED IN PUBLIC LAW 134-- EXCEPT THOSE OF POSTMASTERS AT FOURTH-CLASS OFFICES--- WERE INCREASED $400 BY THE ENACTMENT OF PUBLIC LAW 386. THERE WAS NO INDICATION THAT IT WAS THE INTENT OF YOUR OFFICE TO CHANGE THE FORMULA SPECIFIED IN PUBLIC LAW 134 FOR THE COMPUTATION OF THE SALARY PAYABLE TO A RURAL CARRIER SERVING A TRI-WEEKLY ROUTE, AND THERE WAS NO SUCH INTENT ON THE PART OF THIS DEPARTMENT THROUGH THE INADVERTENT USE OF THE LANGUAGE IN QUESTION 2 INDICATING THAT A RURAL CARRIER SERVING A TRI WEEKLY ROUTE WOULD RECEIVE ANNUAL BENEFITS UNDER PUBLIC LAW 386 TO THE EXTENT OF $200 ONLY.

IN VIEW OF THE INCONSISTENT PHRASEOLOGY OF QUESTION 2 IN MY LETTER OF MAY 22, 1946, YOUR DECISION IS REQUESTED AS TO WHETHER THE SALARY OF A RURAL CARRIER SERVING ONE TRI-WEEKLY ROUTE WILL CONTINUE TO BE BASED UPON A ROUTE ONE-HALF THE LENGTH OF THE ROUTE SERVED BY HIM, THUS RECEIVING BENEFIT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF PUBLIC LAW 386 TO THE EXTENT OF $400 PER ANNUM.

YOUR SUBMISSION OF MAY 22, 1946, STATED QUESTION 2 AS FOLLOWS:

2. A RURAL CARRIER SERVING ONE TRI-WEEKLY ROUTE WILL BE PAID A SALARY ON THE BASIS OF A ROUTE ONE-HALF THE LENGTH OF THE ROUTE SERVED BY HIM, THUS RECEIVING BENEFIT UNDER THIS ACT TO THE EXTENT OF $200 PER ANNUM, RATHER THAN BEING CONSIDERED AS WITHIN THE CATEGORY OF A "PART-TIME EMPLOYEE" AS REFERRED TO IN THE FIRST PROVISO OF SECTION 1.

UPON THE QUESTION SO PRESENTED--- INCLUDING OTHER QUESTIONS THEREIN SUBMITTED--- THIS OFFICE STATED THAT THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN YOUR LETTER APPEARS TO BE CORRECT. THERE WAS NO INTENTION IN SAID REPLY TO CHANGE IN ANY WAY THE FORMULA PRESCRIBED IN PUBLIC LAW 134 APPROVED JULY 6, 1945, FOR THE COMPUTATION OF THE SALARY PAYABLE TO A RURAL CARRIER SERVING A TRIWEEKLY ROUTE--- MORE STRESS HAVING BEEN PLACED UPON THE QUESTION OF WHETHER SUCH AN EMPLOYEE WAS A "PART-TIME EMPLOYEE" WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF SECTION 1 OF THE ACT OF MAY 21, 1946, PUBLIC LAW 386, 60 STAT. 203, AND INADEQUATE CONSIDERATION HAVING BEEN GIVEN TO THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 17 (A) AND (C) OF THE POSTAL EMPLOYEES' PAY ACT, PUBLIC 134, 59 STAT. 455, 456, IN PERTINENT PART, AS FOLLOWS:

SEC. 17. (A) CARRIERS IN THE RURAL DELIVERY SERVICE SHALL BE DIVIDED INTO ELEVEN GRADES, WITH SALARIES BASED IN PART ON SPECIFIED RATES PER MILE PER ANNUM AND IN PART ON FIXED COMPENSATION PER ANNUM, AS FOLLOWS:

FOR ROUTES THIRTY MILES OR LESS IN LENGTH SERVED SIX DAYS A WEEK:

CHART

RATES PER MILE: FIXED COMPENSATION

GRADE 1, $54 -------------------------------------------- 10

GRADE 2, $56 -------------------------------------------- $24

GRADE 3, $58 --------------------------------------------48

GRADE 4, $60 -------------------------------------------- 72

GRADE 5, $62 -------------------------------------------- 96

GRADE 6, $64 -------------------------------------------- 120

GRADE 7, $66 -------------------------------------------- 144

GRADE 8, $68 -------------------------------------------- 168

GRADE 9, $70 -------------------------------------------- 192

GRADE 10, $72 ------------------------------------------- 216

GRADE 11, $74 ------------------------------------------- 240

(C) A RURAL CARRIER SERVING ONE TRIWEEKLY ROUTE SHALL BE PAID A SALARY ON THE BASIS OF A ROUTE ONE-HALF THE LENGTH OF THE ROUTE SERVED BY HIM. RURAL CARRIER SERVING TWO TRIWEEKLY ROUTES SHALL BE PAID A SALARY ON THE BASIS OF A ROUTE ONE-HALF THE COMBINED LENGTH OF THE TWO ROUTES.

AS IT NOW APPEARS THAT THE REGULAR SALARY OF A TRIWEEKLY RURAL CARRIER IS THE SAME AS A FULL TIME RURAL CARRIER SERVING A ROUTE ONE HALF THE LENGTH OF THAT SERVED BY THE TRIWEEKLY CARRIER, AND THAT A FULL TIME CARRIER SERVING A ROUTE OF ANY LENGTH IS ENTITLED TO THE FULL $400 INCREASE IN ANNUAL COMPENSATION PROVIDED BY THE ACT OF MAY 21, 1946, PUBLIC 386, THERE APPEARS JUSTIFIED THE CONCLUSION THAT A TRIWEEKLY RURAL CARRIER IS NOT LIMITED TO $200 ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION BUT IS ENTITLED TO THE PAYMENT AT HIS FORMER RATE OF COMPENSATION PLUS $400 PER ANNUM. THE DECISION OF MAY 29, 1946, 25 COMP. GEN. 823, IS AMPLIFIED ACCORDINGLY.