The rcam states
B. Failure to return a request for leave within three (3) days of receipt will result in the request being automatically approved, provided the rural carrier has obtained a proper acknowledgement of the leave request submission.
Everyone seems to be under the impression that this means leave submitted within the time on the 5th gives management until the 8th to respond.
I think the current interpretation is wrong as it is ignoring that it says "within three (3) days of receipt"
The current interpretation I keep seeing states that submission day is "day 0". I argue this is wrong as this implies that the statement claims they have "72 hours" to respond but this is not what is written and language is important. If they wanted to give management 3 days to respond from the submission date then it would say "in three days of the day of receipt " or state a specific hour time frame from the submission time. Since I'm arguing language here is the definition of "within":
within /wĭᴛʜ-ĭn′, wĭth-/
I understand that logically people try to view a day as 72 hour blocks to imply they have 3 days from the submission date but the language specifically argues days and not hours. You cannot be halfway through a day and leave must be submitted before a deadline on the current day to be considered when you submit so you have to be in that first day. When a timeline specifies days or dates, the entire calendar day must be treated as a single, unbroken unit. The boundary line is the days/date itself, not a specific hour mark on a clock.
Because the interval is strictly limited to dates, the boundary works by counting whole days forward from your starting point:
Thoughts? Does my argument make sense as to why everyone is interpreting this incorrectly based on how it is written?
EDIT: replied explaining why I'm right but wrong.
B. Failure to return a request for leave within three (3) days of receipt will result in the request being automatically approved, provided the rural carrier has obtained a proper acknowledgement of the leave request submission.
Everyone seems to be under the impression that this means leave submitted within the time on the 5th gives management until the 8th to respond.
I think the current interpretation is wrong as it is ignoring that it says "within three (3) days of receipt"
The current interpretation I keep seeing states that submission day is "day 0". I argue this is wrong as this implies that the statement claims they have "72 hours" to respond but this is not what is written and language is important. If they wanted to give management 3 days to respond from the submission date then it would say "in three days of the day of receipt " or state a specific hour time frame from the submission time. Since I'm arguing language here is the definition of "within":
within /wĭᴛʜ-ĭn′, wĭth-/
adverb
- In or into the inner part; inside
preposition
- In the inner part or parts of; inside.
I understand that logically people try to view a day as 72 hour blocks to imply they have 3 days from the submission date but the language specifically argues days and not hours. You cannot be halfway through a day and leave must be submitted before a deadline on the current day to be considered when you submit so you have to be in that first day. When a timeline specifies days or dates, the entire calendar day must be treated as a single, unbroken unit. The boundary line is the days/date itself, not a specific hour mark on a clock.
Because the interval is strictly limited to dates, the boundary works by counting whole days forward from your starting point:
- The Start Date (Today): This is the baseline date.
- The Interval: You count 3 distinct calendar dates after today.
- The Limit: Those 3 specific dates form the complete inside boundary.
Thoughts? Does my argument make sense as to why everyone is interpreting this incorrectly based on how it is written?
EDIT: replied explaining why I'm right but wrong.
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