State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-2841
Fax: (916) 558-3160


Honorable Governor,

.. ..My intent today is to inform you of an area not addressed by the Honorable Governor in his budget. I reviewed some pay stubs that were on the internet for the public to view. The case being presented was regarding the furloughs and the effect on pay. Many of us in California do not have the luxury of paychecks in the amount of these State employees.

While reviewing that pay stub I noticed several things. There was an incredible amount being reimbursed for benefit costs. There was also a triple digit vacation hour accumulation and large sick leave accruals. The numbers look something like this: 474 hours vacation accrual and 71 hours sick leave.

As an accountant, I am looking at the accrued vacation and sick leave as an area that should be reviewed. The amount of cumulative time does not seem to have a cap. Most vacation time and sick time is capped to prevent an excess amount of liability. In addition, a company does not operate at its maximum benefit when there is more time off than time on. 12 weeks of vacation time and 2 weeks sick leave may be extreme, especially during a recession. The amount of budget problems California faces can be reduced if the practices of the government resemble that of smart business.

I would highly recommend capping the vacation hours to no more than a 6 week accrual. It may be wise to not allow sick time to accrue beyond a one year period. Each year new time must be earned. If the time is unused, it falls back to zero. The maximum sick time should be no more than 6 days per year. In the event of a medical emergency or an absence that is in the FMLA, this is not considered earned sick time and does not represent a deficit accrual on the books.

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/the_state_worker/Chiang2.pdf
http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/the_state_worker/Chiang.PDF

Vacation

On the first day of the month following six months of qualifying State service, each employee is entitled to receive a one-time vacation credit of 42 hours. Thereafter, for each qualifying pay period, an employee receives the following vacation credits on the first day of the following month:

State Service Hours of Credit
7 months to 3 years 7 hours per month
37 months to 10 years 10 hours per month
121 months to 15 years 12 hours per month
181 months to 20 years 13 hours per month
20 years and over 14 hours per month

Generally, vacation credits can be accumulated to a maximum of 640 hours. Employees can be paid for any accumulated vacation credits upon their permanent separation from State employment.

http://www.jobs.ca.gov/OEC/benefits/benefits.aspx

Tags: Lazy Squirrel Government Employees