Daily Talker: Capping Sick Time

Gov. Charlie Baker wants to limit how much sick time state workers can save up. The proposed bill would cap the amount of sick time employees can accrue at 1,000 hours. That's equivalent to about six months of work. Right now, state employees can accrue a maximum of 15 sick days per year and those employees who retire are permitted to cash out 20 percent of unused sick time. Retiring workers who have used little or no sick time are getting big payouts. A cap of 1,000 hours would have saved the state an average of $3.5 million in cash payouts every year for the last three years. The governor said in a statement on Wednesday that sick time is meant to give workers a way to deal with health and family issues, not a retirement bonus. The bill would exempt 5,800 state employees who have already accrued more than 1,000 hours of sick time. Their sick time would be capped at the amount they have when the bill becomes law. The bill now heads to the House and Senate for consideration. What do you think?

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