NALC 2027 Annual Leave: 520-Hour Carryover and the 80-Hour Sale Option

City carriers planning their year-end leave have two September 3 agreements to review. NALC announced them September 8: M-02020 covers annual leave carried from 2026 into 2027, while M-02019 covers monetization, or selling annual leave, for leave year 2027.

Keeping these provisions separate is the first step. One concerns the balance an employee retains. The other concerns an election to exchange leave for payment. Neither means every carrier automatically receives extra cash.

Carrying leave into 2027

M-02020 allows regular workforce career employees covered by the USPS-NALC agreement to carry over up to 520 hours of accumulated annual leave from leave year 2026 into leave year 2027. The agreement expires at the conclusion of the 2027 leave year.

The same document expressly leaves the ELM provisions governing payment of accumulated leave unchanged. A higher carryover ceiling therefore should not be read as a blanket promise about an employee's separation or retirement payout.

Who can sell up to 80 hours?

M-02019 allows NALC career employees to sell a maximum of 80 hours before the leave year begins, subject to two conditions. The employee must be at the maximum carryover ceiling defined in ELM 512.321 at the start of the leave year, and must have used fewer than 75 hours of sick leave in the immediately preceding leave year.

NALC's September 8 explanation identifies the referenced ELM ceiling as 440 hours. That reference differs from the temporary 520-hour carryover allowance in the other MOU. Employees should not substitute one number for the other or assume that a current balance alone establishes eligibility.

A simple way to compare the choices

Planning example, not an eligibility determination: If a covered employee projects 540 accumulated hours at the carryover cutoff, that is 20 hours above a 520-hour ceiling. That calculation identifies a planning issue; it does not establish that those hours will automatically be sold, paid or restored. The employee should resolve the balance through the applicable leave and election procedures before the cutoff.

What to check before making an election

Gather the leave balances and sick-leave usage shown in your records, account for approved leave still to be used, and compare the result with the official election materials. If the figures disagree, address the discrepancy while there is time to correct it. Keep a copy of any election and its confirmation.

The signed MOUs reviewed for this article do not supply an enrollment deadline, a payment date or an individual net-payment estimate. Use the current USPS election instructions for those details. A gross leave payment and the amount deposited after deductions are not interchangeable.

These are USPS-NALC agreements for covered career employees. This article does not extend their terms to CCAs, another bargaining unit or EAS employees. It also does not replace the separate rules discussed in our annual-leave payout at retirement guide.