Jones is a retired cop, and he listens when police officers talk. They told him that under a new city policy going into effect Jan. 1, officers would lose benefits. They told him that they'd get fewer days off each year, that they were being punished for employees who abused their sick leave. Council members were informed of the changes two weeks ago. They would also be allowed to donate time to fellow employees who need it for major medical emergencies.
Employees fall back on accrued sick leave, then go on disability.
Instead, it would give employees flexibility in taking time off and free bosses from trying to figure out who is playing hooky. For example, a worker with less than five years' experience would earn 17 days of personal leave for any purpose instead of 12 days of vacation and 12 days of sick leave under the current policy. The personal-leave system is becoming more popular across the United States, because workers can take off for a range of reasons, not just if they're ill. Locally, Gulfstream , Memorial Health University Medical Center and St. Joseph's Hospital use variations of the system. Brown said bosses can be less paternalistic because they don't have to question whether employees are abusing sick days.