Posted by Opinion from Federal Times
Sick leave is a job benefit, not a privilege
While managers may have the legal right to use sick leave restriction letters ["How to fight sick leave abuse," Ask the Lawyer column, April 19 issue], I could find no guidelines during my career on what constitutes sick leave abuse. There was no usable definition of what constitutes incapacity.
Is a headache sufficient reason to take sick leave? What about depression and other gray areas? Simply having a chronic condition may be reason for days off.
Having to submit to interrogation by a manager who may already be hostile toward an employee for absences is demeaning and rife with potential for abuse by the manager.
Not all conditions require a visit to the doctor, so requiring this documentation is not an effective way to respond to sick leave abuse.
Managers are not doctors and are not qualified to make decisions about what constitutes incapacity, especially in the absence of agency guidelines.
Managers are not employment lawyers and are not qualified to make judgments about what constitutes abuse.
As a former letter carrier who used 2000 hours of sick leave during my postal career and am proud of it, true sick leave is a benefit that you should only use if you are in the hospital on life support according to management. Any other use is considered abuse and will be questioned. That is just a form of intimidation so you`ll be afraid to call in sick. If you choose to allow it to affect you and come to work sick, management has accomplished their goal and you are a chump! Sick leave should not be abused however when you need to use it do it because it is a benefit!
I am a letter carrier and have been with USPS for 10 yrs. I recently transferred to another station and am not happy. The supervisors are no help and all of the carriers have issues with the supervisors from lack of communication to big headed control of power. I have NEVER received a Letter of Warning until last week. I called in 3 months ago for 8 hrs of unscheduled sick leave, I used 8 hrs of Emergency Annual leave for a funeral, which I explained & received approval from the supervisors and Postmaster, and last week I used 8 hrs of unscheduled sick leave (which I turned in a Dr excuse for because of the hassle I received from supervisors). I was scorned by my supervisor and given a Letter of Warning for UNACCEPTABLE ATTENDANCE PERFORMANCE- FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS OF YOUR POSITION. I know of other carriers that abuse sick leave and call in at least once a week and do so without hassles from the supervisors. Please provide me with your input or guidance on what I should do and any reference to written documentation so I can fight back with official policy & procedures. I am filling a grievance but if you have any other info that may be helpful I would appreciate it!
Frustrated,
Seek employment elsewhere. You’re probably qualified to deliver pizza or newspapers.
Frustrated:
I am the “Gary” from the response above yours.You are absolutely correct in the fact that management hassles some people and others are left alone. Most of my sick calls would come out of left field catching management completely off guard. If I was ever questioned about a sick call which only happened once in 22 years I would call my doctor and have him give me a note covering me for 3 to 5 days. It sounds to me they are just trying to intimate you because you are new at that office. If you allow it to happen and don`t call in sick when you are, management has accomplished their goal. I had a friend at my former branch who has more than 30 years in and has only called in sick 3 times in his entire career. I can`t tell you the number of times he came to work sick but it was alot. Bottom line, if you are sick just call in and screw management. By the way documentation isn`t necessary until after 3 days. If they want a doctor`s note for one day go to your union rep and tell him about it. Good luck!
The Fact, is that most carriers do abuse their sick leave. Then down the road when they need it. It’s gone. The I have over 1000 hours of sick leave and i’m proud of it! I laugh at these chumps that call in week after week. Management has nothing to do with it. When we go to five day delivery, you can bet that sick leave will be reduced along with A.L. in the upcoming contract. So Go ahead call in sick, Your only screwing your fellow carriers. And say Hello to the O.I.G for me. Dumb Asses.
With respect, consider postal employees affected by aggressive policies who are innocent of sick leave abuse. And most carriers DO NOT abuse their sick leave. What about the national contract? What about the law?
In any other job, it would be called personal leave (or something comparable) and is not separate from annual leave. Sick leave is time worked benefit. You only accrue leave as you work for it. It is yours to use as needed or desired. That is a LEGAL RIGHT not to be mishandled, misinterpreted and evaluated by managers and supervisors. Just like cops can’t make up and evaluate the law as they see fit.
Management has everything to do with it, sick leave is distributed as if it comes from their own personal pockets. There are increasingly changing stipulations on what constitutes incapacitation, documentation and sick leave abuse. This article was clear in pointing that out, however the abuse of civil action and managerial power is what is NOT called into question. Management has now opted to simply refuse sick leave pay for any and all employees who call off sick, FMLA or not. Under some new obscure “policy” the pay has to be corrected after the postal manager deems documentation, medical or otherwise, sufficient to his or her likes. In fact, I know a manager who instructed his supervisor not to pay an employee sick leave, no matter what medical documentation they had.
Tell me how you justify that… legally.
I called off sick and had a doctors note for every day of the 2 weeks. They wouldn’t pay me for my sick leave and i had 32 days of sick leave. I don’t know where is states in any contract that the supervisor can refuse to pay you your sick leave when u meet their standards. Anyone have any advice?
Roxanne: Lawyer. In my office we have by passed the union and climbing the chain of command. It is wasted time and breath. We now go to our congressman. The PO doesn’t like it, but then, I care about that why? I spent over 400 hours last year for a surgery. Since that was only one event, I didn’t have any problems. But people that have small kids who get sick at day care, have to be off more regularly. They get harrassed. Upper management is arrogant. They basically can do what the want, without ANY reprecussions.
I find it funny that “Mike” , who claims that all carriers abuse sick leave, refers to his fellow carriers as dumb-asses but can’t even use the word “your” correctly. Classy guy.