June 15, 2016
BOSTON — Multiple unions turned out at a legislative hearing on Wednesday to oppose a bill introduced by Gov. Charlie Baker that would cap public employees' sick time.
The bill, said Marie Cunningham, vice president of the Massachusetts Organization of State Engineers and Scientists, "would punish rank and file workers for management abuses of sick leave, while not addressing the true golden parachute issue."
Baker introduced the bill in May, in response to news reports about high payouts of sick leave given to retiring state workers. The most egregious case involved Bridgewater State University president Dana Mohler-Faria, who received $257,000 from unused sick and vacation time accrued over 38 years.
Under current law, public employees can accrue up to 15 sick days a year. When they retire, they can cash out 20 percent of the unused sick time.
Baker's proposal would cap the total accrual at 1,000 hours of sick time, which is the equivalent of six months of work. It would take a state employee 8.5 years of work to accrue that much time, assuming the person does not take any sick days, according to Cunningham.
The administration says the bill would save the state approximately $3.5 million annually, based on data from the last three fiscal years.
Massachusetts' Chief Human Resources Officer Paul Dietl said according to national statistics, 46 percent of employers allow some carry over of sick time, but some of those employers have a cap. "Bringing us in line with other private employers makes sense as the fiscally responsible thing to do," Dietl said.
Dietl said 5,800 employees who already have more than 1,000 hours of accrued sick time will be grandfathered in and will be able to keep their sick time.
Unions argue that the sick leave is important, particularly since the state does not offer short or long-term disability pay.
"As state employees, your sick leave really becomes your short term disability plan," said Susan Tousignant, president of SEIU Local 509, which represents human services and education workers. "They use their sick time for when they have a sick child, when they're facing a medical crisis themselves. It's really important that they be able to build up some of their sick time."
"While 1,000 hours might sound like a lot, anyone who has fought cancer, recovered from a serious injury or cared for a child with a prolonged illness can tell you how quickly that time dries up," Tousignant said.
Valerie Copeland, a MassHealth employee working in member services, has worked for the state for close to 12 years. She has accumulated more than 1,000 hours of sick time, and said the time "proved to be a tremendous blessing to me and my family."
Copeland's mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2012, and Copeland is her primary caregiver. Copeland has to ensure that her mother takes her medication, has her meals prepared, has her shopping done and receives the services she needs. "If I didn't have access to this type of sick leave now, my mother would be forced to a nursing facility long before necessary," Copeland said.
"Believe me, there will be no big payout at the end of my state service, and that's perfectly fair," Copeland said.
David Holway, national president of the National Association of Government Employees, which represents 22,000 workers at 60 Massachusetts state agencies, said changes should be made through negotiations, not legislation.
"They're changing the terms and conditions of people's employment, and the only way to actually do that is through the collective bargaining process," Holway said.
According to Holway, the average sick leave payout for retiring workers in fiscal year 2015 was around $5,000.
"The rank and file state employees are not abusing the system at all," Holway said. "The vast majority of state employees use their sick leave when they are sick. They bank it in case something drastic happens."
Chris O'Donnell, president of the Massachusetts State Colleges Association, which represents state university faculty and librarians, said members received the sick leave benefits to make up for a lack of salary increases in the past. "To change collective bargaining agreements now after the fact is somewhat unfair," O'Donnell said.
Cunningham noted that even with the sick leave benefits, her members – scientists and engineers – earn less than they would in the private sector. She called the bill a "kneejerk response" to abuses by managers, who generally had individually negotiated contracts.
Jim Durkin, director of legislation, political action and communications for AFSCME Council 93, said his workers get average sick leave payouts of $5,000 to $6,000 when they retire. A mental health worker with 30 years of service who never took a sick day would get a $14,000 payout.
"When you contrast that with higher education executives, who we believe prompted the filing of this legislation, it's like night and day," Durkin said.
The Joint Committee on Public Service is now considering the bill. It can kill the bill by sending it to a study committee or recommend that it receive a vote from the full Legislature.
Lawmakers have indicated that it is unlikely that the bill will pass during this legislative session, which ends in July. Baker has said his hope in filing the bill is to "engage the debate."
The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education on Wednesday voted to limit the amount of sick and vacation days available to some of the state's highest paid education officials.
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