The Washington times., 1920-08-22
TAKE BACK PAY
.OF FP.O. CLERKS
Mail Workers Must Refund
Extra Money for Sundays
in June.
$4,000 BRANCHES AFFECTED
Men TO Get Day OF Each Week
Instead of Cash in
Future.

Thousands of postal employees in
approximately 32,z50 first and sec
ond class postoffices throughout the
country who have been working Sun
days during June must refund as
high as SIS each TO the Government,
under a decision Of the Comptroller
of the Currency affecting the Re-
classification Brief, the new post
office law passed by Congress June
last.
NO EXTRA DAYS PAY.
Instead OF being given an extra
days pay for working on Sundays
and holidays. postal clerks now will
be allowed time of" during the week
to make up for the extra hours of
work. without receiving any addi-
tional pay.
The reclassihcation brief. which
went into effect July /, has given rise
to a peculiar situation that affects
practically every postoffice in the
country. A recent ruling of Comp
troller Williams declares the clause
in the act relating to compensation
for Sunday work to be in force from
the passing of the bill. which is June
s.
1t is estimated that several hundred
thousand employees who have worked
Sundays from June to July !, must
refund the extra pay that they have
drawn from the Government.
Postmaster Chance, of the Wash
ington postoffice. declared today that
the ruling will affect Washington pos
tai employees as well as those in Bal
timore and other cities, where many
clerks work Sundays to provide for
the flow of outgoing mail. Only
enough employees at the local post
office are engaged Sundays to handle
the out going mail, Mr.. Chance said.
Clerks who were unfortunate
enough to lose money by working
Sundays will be allowed additional
time off as the Postoffice Department
intends to stretch it's tape as far as
possible for the relief Of employees
who suffer from the decision.
The new method Of compensatin8
for Sunday work with a day on dur
ing the week will also mean that
the Postoffice will have to run with
a reduced force several days each
week.
Postal employees are greatly agt-
tated as result. not only Oh tHe
clause in the Postoffice law. but also
over the decision of the Comptroller
Of the Currency, which makes 1t i'm
perative for them to refund hard
earned pay to the Government. Post
office officials hasten to assure them
that the Postoffice Department had
nothing whatever to do with this de-
cision and is seeking methods now to
afford some degree of reliet 10 en-
ployes who have suffered.
Postmaster General Burleson VIII
ask Congress to refund the money
the postal employees will be compelled
to return to the Government. He
will seek to have a bill put through
both houses as soon as Congress
meets again in December. NO ONE
in the Postoffice Department antici-
pated the ruling by the Comptroller,
which makes the law effective with
this respect from the date OF its pas
sage AS consequence, employees
were permitted to work Sundays dur
ing June at the extra pay. u~lly
amounting to about S5 in each ease.
A great majority of them worked
three Sundays, which places the
amount at S15 per employe.
1t is impossible for Postonice or.
ficials to compute with any accuracy
the total amount that will have TO
be refunded. Reports must hrst be
received from nearly $4,000 postonices
affected. The amount will total sew
cral million dollars at any rate.