Belvidere Daily Republican: Health board ponders how many sick days are too many

By Bob Balgemann
Reporter
BELVIDERE - Members of the Boone County Board of Health were reviewing a proposed change in the sick and personal leave policy for employees of the health department should get each year.
The addition read: "When a physician releases an employee to return to work, the employee will be required to submit a written d...octor's statement to their director before they will be allowed to return to work. The director will review any restrictions set forth by the attending physician and apply those restrictions until a subsequent physician's statement releases an employee to full duty."
But before the board could dig into that proposal at its March 31 meeting, member Allen Sisson took issue with the number of sick days a full-time employee gets each year.
"I think nine days of sick time is excessive," he said. "I would recommend six. And if it's not used it should not roll over" into the next year. "I'd like this to go back to the drawing board."
Current policy allows employees to accumulate unused, paid sick leave to a maximum of 570 hours, or 71 1/4 days. Any amounts over 570 days are lost and not eligible to be carried over into the following year.
Sick leave currently is awarded in increments starting with three on Dec. 1, the start of the fiscal year. The employee receives two more each on March 1, June 1 and Sept. 1.
Part-time employees who work 20 or more hours a week now receive seven paid sick days a year.
According to the policy, the purpose of sick leave is to provide income protection for an employee who is unable to work because of "personal matters, illness or injury of the employee or an immediate family member."'
Immediate family members were identified as the employee's spouse, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, step-parents, step-children, mother, father, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.
REFLECTS COUNTY POLICY
"What about the county?" board Vice President Jim Cox asked.
"This is the county policy," Frank responded.
To that Sisson said he agreed the health department should follow Boone County policy, whenever possible. "But I don't think we should follow this," he added.
The health department is independent of county government, though the county board approves its operating budget each year. One county board member, currently Ron Wait, serves as a voting member of the board of health.
Another county board member, Bill Pysson, who was in the audience for the March 31 meeting, said many counties "go with their union contracts" when it comes to personnel matters.
Sisson thought nine days of sick leave "is sending the wrong message."
"This is not common in the workplace," Cox said of such a practice.
But Bill Hatfield, director of environmental health, said the concept is for people to remain healthy. "It's an incentive not to take advantage of the system," he said.
Cox suggested the matter be brought before the finance committee at its next meeting. A motion to that effect passed, 9-0.
Meanwhile, Frank will find out how other health departments handle sick leave.