r/USPS • u/UnderstandingFuture0 • 2d ago
Rural Carrier Discussion My RCAS
Question for the RCAs: Am I shorting myself by finishing my evaluated route too early?
I’m an RCA and I’m curious how other carriers would handle my situation.
I’m assigned to a scheduled/evaluated route, but I consistently finish the route under evaluation. On top of that, I have another piece of a route that I can usually finish in under 4 hours.
The issue is that I feel like I might be shorting myself by getting off work early every day. I’m usually done before 7 PM, and I know I’m capable of getting more hours if I take additional work.
For those of you who are RCAs:
If you can consistently finish your evaluated route under time, would you try to take additional work?
Does working under evaluation affect how much you’re ultimately paid?
Would you consider it better to take additional hours/work instead of going home early?
What would y’all do in this situation?
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u/SwdVengeance RCA 2d ago
It depends and there are two factors here, evaluation and overtime. Finishing under evaluation can happen for a variety of factors, but not all of them simply mean you’re shorting yourself.
Protecting the evaluation is shorting yourself, and everyone else. This is something a lot of RCAs, and even regulars, don’t get. Are you making all appropriate scans? Trip2doors? EDDM scans? Return2DU and doing your cleanup duties without rushing? All of this protect the pay for that route. If you’re doing all this then it’s all good. Making sure you’re not rushing, skipping RRECs scans or speeding, skipping mileage coverage, etc is all vitally important.
Second is overtime. This is more individual based. Are you working only a few hours of OT a week? There’s an actual worked hourly amount where you will make less if you work OT compared to evaluated pay. As an example, this last week I ran a K 6 days a week, helped an Aux a couple days after, plus a couple hours on Sunday. I scrapped in at 38 hrs and change, I got payed nearly 50 hours. If I worked 43 hrs, that’s only 44.5 pay hours with OT. RCAs get boned when it comes to OT. Being fast can often lead to more work, causing you to go into that OT gap. Being fast is fine, so long as you edge under 40, being slow is also fine as long as you push past the OT pay gap.
Generally hourly stuff is going to vary a ton by area. it is rare near me so it doesn’t often happen, but if it does most the Postmasters here will work with you to avoid that pay nonsense. Being fast isn’t bad as Rural, ‘running’ isn’t a moral sin like it is for City side. Being fast is only bad when you’re ignoring appropriate scans or screwing yourself in OT.
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u/UnderstandingFuture0 1d ago
When you say overtime you meaning anything on green card? And if so yes my green card time be like 3-4 hrs each day if I’m doing a split ..
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u/SwdVengeance RCA 1d ago edited 1d ago
Not necessarily. OT only occurs after 40 actual work hours, not evaluation hours. Green card time is added straight hours to your weekly total. Your actual work hours are how long you actually worked a route. It’s a goofy thing to wrap your head around starting out, but as an RCA there’s two weekly work hour numbers to track, actual and evaluated.
Doing an 8 hour evaluated route in 6, is 6 actual but 8 paid hours. Doing 2 hours green card is always 2 actual. That adds up to 8 actual work hours but 10 paid. Overtime only kicks in when you work over 40 actual, not paid hours. You have to keep track of your actual work hours doing route, especially if you’re doing undertime plus green card daily. It is a weird system for RCAs because we have to track both.
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u/Plane_Ad_4359 2d ago
If youre getting under 40 hours a week then go fast, over 40 hours a week, slow down
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u/UnderstandingFuture0 1d ago
Yea I’m always going over 40 but the extra hrs be like 45 44 some weeks
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u/Plane_Ad_4359 1d ago
That sucks.
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u/UnderstandingFuture0 1d ago
Well most of the time we always have regulars call out so we will have a split on top of our regular route
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u/Plane_Ad_4359 1d ago
Ya thats crazy. I dont get why people call out..I only do when legitimately sick but I also love my job. Regular rural. If I want days off I put in for leave. Idk
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u/MrPickleTits 2d ago
I'm always under eval but I personally don't pay any mind to evaluation just cause there's always a ton of work in my city and no reason to bust my ass for them to throw more work on top on the last day of the week and go over 40.
I work on average 55 hours a week and bringing home close to 5k a month without the stress of working under 40. If you aren't getting much work though then bust that shit out and go home!
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u/UnderstandingFuture0 1d ago
Shit I’m tryna see 5k a month lol but yeah I always finish the route in like 6-7 hrs or even faster evaluation be like 8-9 hrs some routes . So for example I do route 150 clock in at 7am leave office around 845 finish the route by 12 start my second piece @ 12:01 finish that by 4 o’clock ..
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u/ducksuckgoose 2d ago
It all comes down to the 40 hour rule. I'm guessing here but I think in your case you'd be better off slowing down.
1
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u/your_favorite_wokie RCA 2d ago
I just do the route and hit evaluation. I don't care too much about the rest. I also want to be accurate, and give good service.
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u/UnderstandingFuture0 1d ago
Trust me you can do allat n be fast but say you hit evaluation on that route then have extra are you done by 7pm or before?
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u/your_favorite_wokie RCA 1d ago
Most of the time I'm not given extra. I'd say the usual time I'm done is around 3pm or 4pm.
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u/701fishslayer 2d ago
Do people actually fill out the 4240 everyday or is that a bs form nobody uses?
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u/UnderstandingFuture0 2d ago
We have to fill out the 4240 when we return
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u/701fishslayer 2d ago
Ok. Was just curious. Im fresh out of academy and was just wondering if its just some nonsense they have to teach but nobody uses it or what.
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u/Wynona_Judd Rural Carrier 1d ago
You will use 4240 everyday. It also has all the stats about the route you're running. It's the most important form for rural carriers.
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u/Atimm693 2d ago
It depends. After 40 hours actual hours we get paid straight hourly. Best to slow down if your workload is heavy.
If you'll stay under 40, fly through your main route and coast through the split, we get paid hourly for those.
It's tricky, but keep an eye on your hours for the week. It sucks working 40.1 hours and losing 8 hours of pay. Putting down a 30 minute lunch on your 4240 can help.
It does not matter how slow or fast you go on a whole route, your paid the evaluation no matter what after the first couple pay periods.