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If You Have
Ever Been Asked To Drive Your Personal Vehicle On Postal Business... READ THIS!
The following is an excerpt from a Step 4
Decision dated November 25, 1983, regarding employees using personal vehicles.
" ... the Postal Service does not require as a
condition for bidding that a clerical employee use his/her privately-owned
automobile to perform official duties."
Further, Regional Council for the United States
Postal Service states:
"Unless there is a contract between the
employee and the Postal Service for the use of the private vehicle, there would
never be any circumstances in which the Postal Service could order the employee
to use his private vehicle. If such an order were given, the employee would be
entitled to refuse to obey. It would be a wrongful effort to exert dominion over
private property on behalf of the Federal Government. The Judicial process for
such an exercise is quite detailed, and the Postal Service only follows such
judicial route under the most unusual of circumstances. This would never be
applicable to an effort to require an employee to use his personal vehicle for
Postal Service purposes."
It is the recommendation of National Business
Agent, Jeff Kehlert, that under no circumstances should a bargaining unit worker
use his personal vehicle in the performance of USPS duties. Management must make
transportation available to you. If you utilize your personal vehicle for USPS
duties, you may very well be exposing yourselves to liability for your vehicle's
damages in the event of an accident. Your insurance may not cover you for use of
your vehicle in a business capacity.
In a letter dated December 26, 1986, Regional
Counsel for the USPS states:
... that it a Postal employee is traveling in their
personal vehicle while in an on-duty status and involved in an accident, the
Postal Service will pay damages to the other vehicle if it is established that
the Postal Service employee was negligent. This is also true as to personal
injury damages to the driver of the other vehicle. The Postal Service will not
pay for the damage done to the vehicle of the Postal employee. The Postal
Service will not Day any increase in premiums if the insurance company charges
more as a result of the accident. The Postal employee would be covered by the
OWCP just as if they were hurt in an industrial accident on the workroom floor.
The primary differences in the situation where the Postal employee is driving a
Postal vehicle and when they are driving their personal vehicle is that the
Postal Service will not be responsible for damages to the private vehicle of the
Postal employee, whether or not the Postal employee was at fault in the
accident.
Fault does enter into whether the Postal Service
would pay damages, except in determining whether payments are due to the driver
or owner of other vehicles involved in the accident or other parties injured in
such an accident. The postal service is liable for any such damages which are
attributable to the wrongful or negligent conduct of a Postal Service employee
acting in the scope of his or her employment.
(Reprinted from The Guardian)
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