[Publib] Question

[Backwage at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/21/2006 9:21:51 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
EThorson at lclsonline.org writes:

Personally, it really irks me to hear judgments like "good  employees"
and "bad employees" applied to the use of sick time. I feel  very
strongly that sick time should be used when you are sick, and  making
people feel like they are "bad" if they use it is obnoxious  and
self-defeating. 


Sick time systems have inherent flaws:  either you take the worker at  her 
word, which results in a lot of "mental health days," or you require proof,  
which means you treat workers like children and invade their privacy as  well.  
The best solution to this is a time bank which combines vacation and  all other 
elective time off.  By the way, one problem with sick time  systems is that 
they often are constructed with reference to state worker  compensation 
systems--it is required that the employer document illness and/or  injury so as to 
verify workplace injury and separate it from that which occurs  outside the job; 
it is also necessary to start the clock on time off in order to  relieve the 
firm of federal or state FLSA salary requirements for exemption from  
overtime.  Some firms will "terminate" employees after three days or a week  so they 
don't have to pay required salaries; documented illness prevents this  from 
occurring.  And then there is the situation of the Family and Medical  Leave Act, 
and/or any other applicable state laws regarding documentation.  
 
Public sector libraries usually don't have the option to configure their  own 
sick time systems; a more appropriate question would be, "What state or  
municipal system do you operate under, and what are the options within  that, if 
any."
 
M. McGrorty
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