The 701 rule for USPS is a rule that allows city letter carriers who finish their routes in just over 7 hours such as 7 hours and a few minutes to clock out and still receive credit for a full 8 hours of work, provided that they have completed their route and there's no other work available at their station.
But it's often strictly enforced by local management and tied to specific Memorandums of Understanding with the National Association of Letter Carriers.
Essentially the 701 rule for USPS is a way of managing carrier time and gives them early departure with full pay for that day if the conditions, often under specific guidelines like ELM 432.53.
The key aspects of the 701 rule or 7:01 rule are pay credit, the conditions, reference and local discretion.
Management often has strict interpretations and sometimes denies it's use if other work even overtime exists.
It's mentions in ELM 432.53 employee and labor relations manual and NALC MOUs.
And the letter carriers must complete the route, no other work available and requires approval by the supervisor.
And the letter carrier works 7 + hours but less than 8 and gets paid for 8 hours.
There are also other 701 references in USPS like the Asset Management Handbook, AS-701 or ethical standards of 5 CFR Part 7001, but the 7:01 rule, specifically refers to this pay and time adjustment for carriers.
So in short, the 701 rule for USPS is a benefit for carriers under specific circumstances that depend heavily on local managements interpretation and available work.