PS Form 7020: Authorized Absence from Workroom Floor Explained

PS Form 7020, “Authorized Absence From Workroom Floor,” is an internal USPS document a supervisor completes each time a craft employee leaves the workroom floor for an approved reason during a scheduled tour. The form records who left, why, when they left, and when they returned, and it becomes the paper trail behind timekeeping entries, grievance files, and management oversight of floor coverage.¹

One point to get out of the way: the employee does not fill out this form. The supervisor does. An employee’s job is to make sure the supervisor completes it before and after the absence.

When a Supervisor Completes It

The form itself lists the categories of absence it covers:²

Scheme examinations that test knowledge of mail distribution schemes.
Visits to the on-site medical unit or nurse during a shift.
Guide duty, meaning time spent training or orienting another employee on a route or assignment.
Civil defense activities, such as emergency preparedness drills.
Union steward activity, including investigating a grievance, meeting with management, or representing a bargaining-unit employee.

Steward absences are the most closely tracked use of the form. The USPS Office of Inspector General has stated that supervisors “must complete” PS Form 7020 when employees leave work for these purposes and must retain the completed copies.¹

What Goes on the Form

The form is a single page. The supervisor enters:

The employee’s name.
The date.
The time the employee left the workroom floor.
The reason, chosen from the category checkboxes printed on the form.
The time the employee returned, so the total duration is clear on the face of the document.

For steward activity, some facilities also note the specific grievance number or the purpose of the meeting, though the form uses broad checkboxes rather than a narrative field.

Fill in both the departure and return entries before the tour ends. A form that shows a 10:15 a.m. departure with no return time creates an open-ended record, and that becomes a problem during grievance arbitration or an OIG audit.

Because the form dates to May 1998 and is internal, it is not offered for public download through the USPS retail website. Supervisors get it through internal channels or from on-hand stock at the facility.³

Where the Completed Form Goes

PS Form 7020 stays at the facility. It is not routed to a district office or a central processing point. The supervisor keeps the completed form as part of the unit’s administrative records, and during audits or grievances it is the primary evidence that an absence was authorized and how long it ran. Auditors commonly reconcile the forms against clock-ring data in the Time and Attendance Collection System (TACS), and mismatches are a routine audit flag.

Why the Form Protects You

From a craft employee’s side, a completed 7020 is proof you had supervisory approval to step away. Without it, an absence that was genuinely authorized can look unauthorized weeks later when a different supervisor reviews attendance. Stewards should confirm a 7020 is filled out before leaving the floor, because representational time is paid time under most collective bargaining agreements and this form is what supports it.

If a supervisor refuses to complete the form or disputes the reason for the absence, note the refusal and raise it through the grievance process. OIG audit findings have reinforced that completing PS Form 7020 is a management obligation, not a courtesy.¹

1
USPS Office of Inspector General. Union Steward Activity in the Capital Metro Area
2
Branch 38 NALC. PS Form 7020 – Authorized Absence From Workfloor
3
United States Postal Service. Publication 223 – Directives and Forms Catalog