The Star Tribune is reporting that the Counties and Cities are now whining about giving departing employees their sick pay when they leave.
This steward is hitting the fan! On the one hand employees are discouraged from using sick time by being placed on "monitored sick leave" for using it in a contractual manner. (This practice was grieved and is heading to arbitration).On the other hand they now are now discussing not letting you take your accruals with you when you leave at all.
As always they find the most extreme example:
"Donald Holmberg's retirement as chief information officer for Hennepin County last year came with more than well wishes from his colleagues.
The county also paid Holmberg $87,776 for unused sick and vacation days that he had amassed over 38 years on the payroll." Star Tribune
The executives always get obscene amounts more compensation. Remember the $2,000 the Sheriff, County Attorney and County board got this year for health club memberships? A year they once again offer us another wage freeze. No blue collar County worker leaves with that amount of money anymore then they give us $2,000 for health club memberships not deducted from our sick time.
Our contract only allows us to leave with a cap of 800 hours after completing 8 years of employment. 800 hours representing savings to the county. In our job as Detention Deputies if I call in sick they not only pay me, they must also pay someone time and one half to cover my spot. I'll bet the salaried executives don't have a cap, and I'd further wager they never use their sick time because they are salaried...they just don't come in that day. Then take all of it uncapped when they leave. How else does a county Chief Information Officer leave with $87,776? The median County worker leaves with only $1,730 according to this article...replace median with average worker and you get the picture. The fat salaried guys rake it in, then we get painted with the same brush and are expected to take it in the ass again.
Our contract only allows us to leave with a cap of 800 hours after completing 8 years of employment. 800 hours representing savings to the county. In our job as Detention Deputies if I call in sick they not only pay me, they must also pay someone time and one half to cover my spot. I'll bet the salaried executives don't have a cap, and I'd further wager they never use their sick time because they are salaried...they just don't come in that day. Then take all of it uncapped when they leave. How else does a county Chief Information Officer leave with $87,776? The median County worker leaves with only $1,730 according to this article...replace median with average worker and you get the picture. The fat salaried guys rake it in, then we get painted with the same brush and are expected to take it in the ass again.
By saving sick time employees save the county money and get a reasonable severance check. Would they really rather we use it to "sick out" at the end of our careers? They really need to make a decision. Do they want to punish us for using it, or punish us for saving it?
I have a better idea. After years of wage freezes how about they knock off the bullshit and leave us the hell alone?
