Sick days - at what point do you consider it habitual?

[Jim at Gentex]

I've been thinking about talking to them and seeing what we can do about bringing down some of these banked up hours I have.

Here's a crazy idea...

TAKE A NICE LONG RELAXING VACATION!! 

Even if you don't go anywhere, it's good to occasionally take a physical and mental break from work.

There is a reason why our employers give us vacation time, and that is because we NEED to unplug and relax once in a while. 

All work and no play...you know the rest. 

[neurosis]

TAKE A NICE LONG RELAXING VACATION!!

What do you mean? I got an 8 day vacation when I got covid.  

[gcode]

My employer forces you to cash out at the start of every year
We cannot go into a new year with more than 80 hours on the books
and I typically cash out about 110 hours in December.
That is the closest thing we get to a Christmas bonus around here.


On the subject of an employer owing a huge vacation balance and getting in trouble.
Employers should hold employee vacation balances in a separate account,
though I imagine the laws on this vary from state to state.
Any any rate, by the time a company is in so much trouble it's considering
bankruptcy, those funds have already been raided and the employee is pretty much screwed.
I've seen this happen to other people many times over the years, especially in small mom and pop shops

You might want to try negotiating a small weekly cashout until the balance is not so huge.
That would also lower the hit you take on taxes with annual cashouts.
When I cashout 110 hours it's taxed like I make that much weekly and the tax hit is brutal


 

[crazy^millman]

My mom had over 800 hours on the books when she retired. She got all of that deposited right into her Roth and 401K tax free.

[ghuns]

My mom had over 800 hours on the books when she retired. She got all of that deposited right into her Roth and 401K tax free.

I had a teacher in high school who was old as dirt. He was famous for NEVER missing a single day.

They were allowed to bank sick/PTO days. When he retired, he had over a school year's worth of paid time off.

He was like the Bobby Bonilla of teachers.  

[gcode]

They were allowed to bank sick/PTO days.

Many government employee pensions are based on their last year's earnings.
So they do not take vacations for 5 to 10 years before retirement, then cash it out
the year they retire. This inflates their pension to 50 to 100%  higher their their actual annual pay   

[CNCAppsJames]

When I cashout 110 hours it's taxed like I make that much weekly and the tax hit is brutal

Last year I did not take any vacation which left me with 40 hours I could roll over and 160 were cashed out. I got an extra month's pay. :O We are paid every two weeks... that theft of my paycheck SUCKED! Thieving government bastards.

Drip feed that vacation pay out @neurosis

[CNCAppsJames]

Many government employee pensions are based on their last year's earnings.
So they do not take vacations for 5 to 10 years before retirement, then cash it out
the year they retire. This inflates their pension to 50 to 100%  higher their their actual annual pay 

My Grandfather was a Civil Engineer for the County of Los Angeles. He had a full year of vacation pay banked up so he went on vacation for a year then retired. His department didn;t work much overtime to speak of, but to add to what you said, Law Enforcement and Fire Services, those guys work their normal hours plus a BRUTAL overtime schedule for the last X number of years of their careers for exactly that reason. Some guys retire at 100% of their pay when they are 50 years old then live out their remaining 20-30 years on our dime.

I think GOvernment Employee Pensions need to disappear. California has an Unfunded Pension Liability of nearly $1,000,000,000,000. Yeah, that's 1 TRILLION dollars. It's probably higher but because of how the state does accounting and financial obfuscation we'll never truly know the full picture. Best part... all you mother fuckers in other states are going to be footing the bill for my state WHEN it goes bankrupt. Voting Democrat has a cost... it is steep, and it is painful.