Disclaimer! Ruralinfo.net is not sponsored or authorized by the NRLCA, the USPS or any state or local association. Click here to read full disclaimer

2025 – 2026 – New Guarantee Year provisions important to rural carriers

There are certain rural carrier provisions that happen around the new Guarantee year and the end of the year.   Pay close attention to anything highlighted, or you may end up being surprised.

Guarantee Year

The new Guarantee year starts on October 4th, 2025

Carriers are paid overtime for all hours actually worked in excess of 2,080, up to 2,240, within the 52-consecutive-week guar­antee period.

If a carrier works more than 2,240 hours within the guar­antee period, the agreement under FLSA section 7(b)(2) is considered void, and the carrier must be compensated for all hours worked during the guarantee period in accor­dance with FLSA section 7(a).

High/Low Option Election

A Rural Carrier’s pay grows with the size of their route. In certain situations a Rural Carrier may have the additional opportunity of choosing what is called a “high option”.

This basically means they are requesting to work more hours per week, in order to receive more pay.

High/Low option is chosen at the close of each mini mail survey, so twice per year. Carriers can change from High back to Low option at any time, but not the reverse.

X days – Guarantee Year and Christmas Period

During the period that starts with the beginning of the guarantee period through the end of the designated Christmas period, a regular rural carrier who works the relief day and is entitled to an X day, must be given the X day as scheduled by the Employer within the same pay period in which the relief day was worked.

Regular rural carriers shall be prohibited from scheduling a previously earned X day from the beginning of the guarantee period through the end of the designated Christmas period.

If the X day is not received with- in the same pay period, the Employer will compensate the regular rural carrier 100% of the carrier’s daily rate of pay in lieu of the X day.

For more information check out Knowledgebase

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Hot this week

Judge rules USPS ban on guns is unconstitutional

The U.S. Postal Service policy banning people from bringing...

USPS releases updated EMA charts for rural carriers using a POV

Based on the August 2025 CPI-W release, the Equipment...

NRLCA Commemorates 129 Years of Rural Free Delivery and 250th Anniversary of USPS

On October 1, 1896, the first experimental RFD routes...

What the Upcoming Government Shutdown Means for Rural Letter Carriers

At 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, the federal government is...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img
Secret Link
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x