Sunday, December 18, 2011
Yet another public-sector perk: Cashing in on 'unused' vacation and sick time
So former Chelsea housing director Michael E. McLaughlin worked only 15-hour weeks -- and yet cashed in for $81,578 in alleged "unused" vacation time and a whopping $114,237 in alleged "unused" sick time. Crunching the numbers, the Globe says that means he took only four vacation days since 2003 and 3.5 hours of sick time over the past 12 years, assuming you believe McLaughlin's claims. Do you believe McLaughlin's claims? ...
Let's face it: This may be an egregious example, but this general type of vacation- and sick-time "sell back" happens all the time in government. Five-figure and six-figure vacation- and sick-time payouts are not at all unusual. Not only do government workers get better and more secure pensions and retirement benefits than private-sector workers, they also get big lump-sum wads of cash at the end of their careers. Private-sector employees largely work under a "use or lose it" system for vacation and sick days. There's no accumulated cash outs at the end of their careers, no extra five-figure or six-figure pot of gold awaiting them. So why do public-sector workers get this so-often-abused perk? Supporters say it's because public workers will start taking more vacation days and calling in sick more often without it. The appropriate answer: Well, yeah, what's wrong with that? But under the current warped system, we all know they do get vacations and sick days and lump-sum payments. The record keeping on this front is simply a joke -- and everyone knows it. ... The new three-tiered class system in this country: Financiers, government workers, and the rest of us.
So former Chelsea housing director Michael E. McLaughlin worked only 15-hour weeks -- and yet cashed in for $81,578 in alleged "unused" vacation time and a whopping $114,237 in alleged "unused" sick time. Crunching the numbers, the Globe says that means he took only four vacation days since 2003 and 3.5 hours of sick time over the past 12 years, assuming you believe McLaughlin's claims. Do you believe McLaughlin's claims? ...
Let's face it: This may be an egregious example, but this general type of vacation- and sick-time "sell back" happens all the time in government. Five-figure and six-figure vacation- and sick-time payouts are not at all unusual. Not only do government workers get better and more secure pensions and retirement benefits than private-sector workers, they also get big lump-sum wads of cash at the end of their careers. Private-sector employees largely work under a "use or lose it" system for vacation and sick days. There's no accumulated cash outs at the end of their careers, no extra five-figure or six-figure pot of gold awaiting them. So why do public-sector workers get this so-often-abused perk? Supporters say it's because public workers will start taking more vacation days and calling in sick more often without it. The appropriate answer: Well, yeah, what's wrong with that? But under the current warped system, we all know they do get vacations and sick days and lump-sum payments. The record keeping on this front is simply a joke -- and everyone knows it. ... The new three-tiered class system in this country: Financiers, government workers, and the rest of us.
