Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-18
SICK LEAVES.
How Their Abolition Would Work
Hardship to Clerks.

haFus"p I'D SieFASs
To the Editor Of The Evening Star:
I wonder are the thousands of readers of
your paper in Washington who chance to
be government employees alive to the fact
that the legislative bill as reported to the
House Monday by Mr.. Bingham pro-
poses an amendment to existing law
governing leaves of absence in the depart
ments, which. if enacted into law. will, in
the opinion of the writer and others, work
a serious injustice to many faithful, indus
the case of the vast majority of clerks and
other employees. who enjoy large families
and small incomes, and who, for such rea
sons, can lily afford curtailment of their
salarieS-cause serious Inconvenience, pecu-
mary loss, and perhaps, indeed, actual suf-
fering.
At present the law regulating leaves of
absence allows each cmploye thirty days
annual leave and thirty days sick leave,
the latter upon the certificate of a regis
tered physician who is rot in departmental
employ, and where the loss of pay would
cause in the individual case peculiar or
unusual hardship" thirty days additional
SICK leave may be granted in the discretion
of the head of the department. In addi-
ton to this, time allowance. if contagious
disease enters a mans household, he is
compelled for the protection Of his co-em-
pioyes to remain in quarantine till all dan
ger is past. and for such absence he would
not suffer loss of pay.
Now the appropriation committee of the
House propose to change all this, because,
as Mr. Bingham said in the House Tuesday
1.-The privilege of sick leaves had been abus-
ed" Yes. from the time Of the apostles to
date, there have always been found, in
every rank and condition of society, some
dishonest. inscriptions, deceiving people,
but because of this must We enact laws OPP
preSs1vc to the many, simply to reach and
justly punish the few? No, rather, single
they deserve. and to do this l am sure
there~is none more able and more willing
tnan the generous and brave soldier, Gen.
eral Bingham. when, as is the purpose of
this communication, his attention is called
10 the equities of the situation.
The proposed new law practically abol-
lSheS all sick leave, and provides that the
employe may have thirty days leave in any
calendar year. in the discretion of the head
of the department., and that this thirty
Gays absence may be further extended
thirty days. in the discretion of the Secre-
tary, lin exceptional and meritorious cases.
where clerk or employe is personally ILL.,
end where to limit the annual leave to thir-
ty days in one calendar year would work
peculiar hardship. where some member
of the immediate family of clerk or en-
ploye IS afflicted with a contagious disease
and requires the care and attention of such
employee. where his CT her presence in
the department would jeopardiZe the health
OF fellow clerks. In other words. the pro-
posed law vests In the head Of depart
ment discretion to grant thirty days vaca-
ton leave. and. where absence without pay
would work a peculiar hardship" thirty
days sick leave-in all sixty days. Any alb
sence in excess of sixty days no matter
what the cause, shall be without pay"
Now. let us suppose that clerk takes his
annual vacation in July; when his month
leave expires he returns to duty, and in Au-
md &c fine to
under daily professional treatment. for two
weeks; he then returns to duty, and IL he
is willing to tell the head of his depart
ment that his case is one of peculiar hard
ship in other words. that he is a beggar
and will suffer for the necessaries of life if
he don't get his pay for those two weeks
sickness. the Secretary may, 'in his discre-
tion, grant him lis pay. But the end is
not yet. In September his children go to
school, and one day one comes home sick !;
the doctor says diphtheria. Mr.. Clerk must
now be quarantined; he has no choice-the
law is imperative. By the time his little
of danger a month has passed; then Mr.
Clerk. already in debt to doctor, druggist
and nurse finds that because Of pestilence
in his household (the act of God he has ex-
ceeded the time allowance granted under
the proposed law by two weeks. and no
matter how worthy and capable a clerk he
may be, and notwithstanding the fact that
his personal sickness may have been the
first in years. there is no official. high or
low, vested with discretion to help him.
and as a result he must add to all his other
troubles the loss of two weeks salary.
The present law governing the absence of
government employees who have contagious
diseases in their family says, in effect
You must jeopardiZe the health and lives
of your fellow clerks by associating with
them in the performance of your official
duties" and the proposed law says: You
must obey the existing law regarding con-
tagioas diseases-and if you obey it and
chance to have taken your annual leave
before the contagious disease appeared, you
must pay a penalty for your obedience by
forfeiting your salary" Thus 1t will be