Have you heard about the new Defense Authorization Act. As part of the bill, FERS employees will now be credited unused sick leave toward their retirement.
FERS employees retiring between now and January 1, 2014 will get credit for 50 percent of their unused sick leave.
Those retiring after this date will get credit for all their unused sick leave.
What do you think? Will this cut down sick leave? Will it help the Postal Service? Click here.
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26 comments:
Of course it will help. With the "use it or lose it" policy, what was the incentive to save sick leave? This was especially seen with someone who was going to retire in the near future, folks found lots of illnesses they never knew they had!
The general assumption that most people call out and are not sick is in error. The attendance policies of the USPS are strict, and unless you can document the hours of sick leave taken, you are probably dealing with disciplinary action. This may reduce the amount of sick time used, but keep in mind people may also come to work when they are not feeling their best. With the H1N1, I would prefer they stay home.
To an employee like me who really "banked" his sick leave, this is great news. My appx 2000 hours I have today will actually be money in the bank!
Of course it will help. In my unit we had one person on SL for the past 11 months (retired end of Sept). He planned his surgery and recovery for the end of his time. It worked for him. Now those that have it will not have to wait for what they need they can use it if they need it.
This may help some but as people get nearer retirement they usually have more need to use their sick leave. It's unrealistic to think most employees can never use sick leave. Even if they don't get sick they have doctor, dental and vision appointments just to stay healthy and these often can only be scheduled during work hours. Unless you are an exempt employee that means using sick leave. For those who use sick leave when they aren't sick, I doubt this will stop them but it will be a nice benefit for employees who do have a large sick leave balance when they retire.
It's about time! The idea of saving sick leave for when you really need it is great but then to say you will lose if you don't use it never made any sense. Too bad they are only giving us 50% of the unused leave until 2014. Give us all of our earned sick leave when we go.
This will surely be an incentive to save our sick leave...especially to those who now use it indiscriminately. It's a real reward to those who use it only when needed and save the rest.
It will probably help to encourage employees to save sick leave however, at the rate it is converted at retirement, it will take 100 years to get back the money a year of sick leave is worth. That is the math, not an exageration.
Yes it will help the USPS. There employees will be more willing to work instead of using their sick leave up.
I think this is a tremendous benefit which, based on conservative calculations, will amount to approximately an extra $2600 per year at retirement in 2018 with 34 years service.
As a manager of a small operating unit I have found it is common for my employees to use the maximum of 80 hours S/L-DC per year so they could take their kids to doctor and dental appointments. Their reasoning being "our sick leave policy is much more permissive than their spouse's". Perhaps now that there is a real cash benefit to saving sick leave they will share those responsibilities with their spouses.
Sick leave is a benefit earned.
I save my sick leave as much as possible. I've never abused the benefit. Yet, if I get sick or have a doctor's appointment, I'll use sick leave.
I'm happy to know that all the sick leave I've saved will now benefit me when I retire.
I think it will help. But - why do those of us retiring before 2014 only get credit for 50%? Why should we be penalized for saving our sick leave for 25 years?
It won't eliminate all use of sick leave no program will but it will give people a strong incentive to not abuse their sick leave and to bank it for the future. A lot of employees found no reason to bank in the past they felt use it or loose it. That mentality should go away with this program.
WWSANFORD
No question that this change will help reduce the amount of sick leave folks are using. What's with the limit of 50% if you retire before 1/1/2014. I plan to retire in 2012 and I think I'm getting hosed for 50% of the sick leave I will have accumulated. I'd like to hear someone explain why this 50% stipulation got into this bill in the first place? Doesn't make much sense or seem very fair to the most senior workers in the USPS?
Too many employees think their sick leave is theirs and they are entitled to the current day's value. Thus, many employees, even under CSRS, are "using" their sick leave before they retire. If you calculate how many years it will take @ 2% increase to recoup your SL value, it is about 30 or more years.
I believe the USPS should reanme the SL benefit. It should be called Disability Pay Benefit. Then maybe employees will see it for what it really is, rather than an entitlement. Private companies make employees pay for Disability Pay. And many offer a total of 15 paid days off, whether used for sick leave or vacation. And, only 5 can be rolled over in any year so there is no accumulating sick leave for catastrophic illness or injury.
How many are going to their car insurance companies and asking for reimbursement for their premiums because they didn't have an accident? Why are we asking the USPS to "pay" us for our sick leave that we were fortunate enough not to need? I think the 2%retirement annuity increase is generous. And those who will "use up" their accummulated sick leave before they leave the USPS are "stealing from the hand than fed them for many years".
We need to give our employees a new attitude about the sick leave benefit!
No question this should help almost everyone, including the USPS. Why do only the younger employees get 100% payback? Sounds like someone is discriminating against those of us who are closer to retirement?
It's about time! We've earned it and if it is left over then we should receive the benefits of it. I still don't understand why we are brow beaten about not using SL. Why give it to us at all if you expect us not to use it. Even if you aren't sick you still need regular checkups for you to stay healthy and when you have kids too then it all can really add up. Some of us aren't as fortunate as others to have a spouse to share the responsibility of the kids or parents. Also some people just tend to get sick more often or have more ailments than others and they shouldn't be looked down upon for this or treated as if they are hypocondriacs. I am maxed out of my SL today because every year a new illness pops up that requires surgery or tedious treatments and appts. this is beyond my control but I am made to feel that it is my fault that I have inherited every ailment from my ancestors that I can and that I should just suck it up and quit going to the Dr and then I wouldn't know anything was wrong and I could just suffer silently. Just keep working no matter what!
I agree that sick leave is an earned benefit, but it's a benefit we must fight to use. Use too much, you draw the attention of upper management. An employee could go for 2 years without a sick day...take 4 sick days in a 90 day period and they want to issue a letter of warning for abuse?? As far as I am concerned, you should be able to take as much as you have earned as long as you follow the guidelines (appointments or severly sick). If you use it every time you get the sniffles and burn it up....when you really need it..it will not be there. But that is a decsion you made, so if you loose your job...so be it! Management pithces it like they are doing you a favor by allowing you to bank the sick leave??
Of course, it will reduce sick leave usage, especially the "FERS Flu!"
Interesting comments. Both my parents worked as civilians for the US Dept of Defense. They routinely used sick leave interchangeably for annual. In fact, I remember my Dad telling me that once when he called in to go fishing, his supervisor asked him if he wanted to use annual or sick leave. Of course, the Defense Department is not like the postal service because they don't depend on customers for revenue, don't have service standards, and are not required by law to be self-supporting. Our requirement to "act like a business" has engendered a focus on sick leave usage that is often out-of-touch with reality. PEOPLE GET SICK. That is a reality. However, the postal services' tendency to treat every sick leave use as an incident of abuse so that the employees are bullied into using annual when sick, or worse, coming to work sick and infecting the whole crew, is wrong. What they need to do is make an example of the real abusers and the rest of the would-be abusers would get a clue. Treating everyone "the same" - isn't. I have worked here more than 30 years and have nearly 2,000 hours of sick leave (I would have more, but a few surgeries and a bout with pneumonia "whizzed-away" a good chunk of my leave). Now, in my Unit, when I take any unscheduled sick leave (because I am genuinely unable to come to work due to illness--that's the only time I use it), I am called on the carpet by my manager and sternly warned about using sick leave. Sick leave is a great "insurance plan" against future health issues, but I know lots of people who schedule needed hip-replacements and the like just before they retire because the real value of sick leave is in the using it, not rolling it into your retirement.
this is a great step (of many that are needed) to assist in the efficiency of our operations. What a deal for the newer (FERS) employees, thank you for the hard work to get this done...
I just read today (Nov. 5) that there may be a bill in the works to allow Federal Employees to deposit the value of their unused Sick Leave and Annual Leave into their TSP account when they retire. To me, that is an even better benefit! Let's hope it makes it way through Congress and is passed into law.
I take great offense to the statement: "And those who will "use up" their accummulated sick leave before they leave the USPS are "stealing from the hand than fed them for many years".
How can you steal an earned benefit? Each year I receive a statment where sick leave is shown as a benefit!! I wonder what this employee would do if he was working and the mail volume was down....will he complete the work and then take LWOP...or would he simply make the work fill the day? Now who is stealing from the hand that fed him.
I was greatful to have had nearly 900 hours of s/l in 2007, when I had a 'dance with cancer'. I used a significant amount of it during my recovery. I'm building it up again, but, it's a slow process. I also believe that being able to add unused s/l toward retirement is a great idea, and, long overdue. I do, however, also believe it should be counted at 100 per cent - immediately - not 2014.What's that about? It will make a difference in how s/l is used by those of us planning to retire from the USPS. Perhaps, not so much for those who are here shorter term.
You would think that USPS management, who is trying to get people to retire, would have made certain that every FERS retiree would get 100% credit for unused sick leave. Wouldn't that have helped people who were on the fence make up their minds to pull the pin?
The way this pans out lots of folks may work another four years just to take advantage of the additional 1500 hours for which they will ultimately be paid. That fact alone could convince a fence rider to hang on another four years to cash in almost five years of work credits.
Doesn't make sense to put the 100% carrot out four full years when you're are trying to convince people to retire sooner rather than later???
I think if more people were aware that this has passed it will cut down on sick leave abuse. But no one in my P&DC has even mentioned it. We've always seen posters in the past encouraging employees to "Save their sick leave." Why aren't we now seeing posters that tell of this added benefit. Seven of ten employees that I questioned never even realized this had passed.
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