A few months ago, my leave keeper notified me that I needed to take 13 days off before the end of the year or lose them. This was particularly annoying as my work had denied my request for leave to go to Alaska this summer because they needed me around to help move into the new labs. While that turned out to indeed be true, it means I don't get to use the leave when I wanted to or how. Instead, I'm taking days off and working on my landscaping at my house. I know. Super fun. At least they let me take it.
I earn far more leave than I need. In the past decade or so, except for when I was injured on the job, I have only been to the doctor when the government told me that I must. So, I started using the sick time so I could go to the dentist or optometrist at leisure. When I return to work, I just have to catch up, so there wasn't much incentive to take time off. Shoot, I even get to cover for other people for long swaths of absentia. I am underpaid.
Much to my surprise, I have figured out about the sick leave scam. Apparently, government workers are allowed to cash out unused sick leave when they leave the job. This is a new concept for me, although I can't imagine that many of my coworkers actually have much accrued leave. They seem to always be absent for this or that reason, and many of them are catching terminal cancer. Must be the asbestos...
Commercial enterprises treat almost all leave as use or lose. When I left Walmart, they paid out the personal time off I had accumulated at my standard hourly wage, but I surrendered several dozen hours of unused sick time. Sick leave is for when you are sick, and if you are lucky enough to not need it, you should thank your lucky stars, not expect a paycheck. That sounds like bias against people who are sick, because they can't get a bonus check when they retire. I don't think anyone should.
Over the past year, I have seen dozens of special catastrophic leave donation requests. These are for people who have exhausted their sick leave on grievous medical issues. Now, I understand people are suffering. I might one day actually give some of mine away. My problem with this is that they get paid even though they are not only absent from work but also costing the taxpayers who are fitting the bill for their medical care. When I had non government jobs, I was NEVER paid for work I did not do. Far more commonly, I was not paid for work I did do.
Health care ‘benefits’ are part of the huge increase in expense. How many millions has it cost us to buy out people and then to cash out their unused sick leave? They weren't sick. If they are sick, that's one thing, but these people were healthy. Departing administrators, even if they have been on administrative leave, are paid in cash for unused sick time. It’s interesting that I cannot store up personal time, but that if I leave my employ I can cash out sick time.
Sick leave is a perk. Personal time off is a perk. They do not have to offer it. They choose to because they desire to show they value the people who help them get the job done. If you do not use it because you do not need it, it should be like our annual vacation. Perhaps you can store up a bit, but hundreds or thousands of hours? Why?
Last week someone complained about how people who think we should cut teacher salaries 3.5% oppose cuts in CEO salaries. That's not true. We oppose forcing them to take a cut. See, with private companies it works differently. If you do not like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates or even Helen Walton, you can opt not to shop in their stores or buy their products. If you do not like how schools are working, especially if you do not have kids in the schools, you cannot refrain from paying or you lose your house. The government forces you to pay for things you do not use or may oppose under penalty of law. Then, apparently, they give kickbacks to teachers. Sure, we may not earn millions in special bonuses, but this is still a form of special kickbacks. It is the same as the things they decry at high levels of industry.
Use it, or lose it. Freedom is easier to maintain than to regain.
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