Commentary: Illinois Spends Millions Paying People For Their Tardiness
From the Chicago Tribune
Say you're scheduled to work at 8 a.m. Instead, you mosey in around 8:50 a.m.. Would you expect to be paid for those first 50 minutes?
Moreover, would you expect to still have a job if you regularly showed up late?
For most people, the answer to both questions is "no." But allow me to introduce you to the world of Illinois state government — where not only is such behavior permissible, it's incentivized.
Most state government workers are covered by a union contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Tucked away in this contract is an expensive gift: state employees can be up to one hour late for work before their pay is docked. And while workers may be asked to be more adherent to the schedule, there's no limit to how many days state workers can show up late and still be paid for the time they're not there.
Public employees are cashing in on this perk.
In the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, 45 percent of workers self-reported showing up to work late in fiscal year 2013, according to documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Some of these workers said they were late once or twice, but many were repeat offenders. One worker reported showing up to work late 94 times over the course of the year. Another reported arriving late 84 times, documents show.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Tribune
Say you're scheduled to work at 8 a.m. Instead, you mosey in around 8:50 a.m.. Would you expect to be paid for those first 50 minutes?
Moreover, would you expect to still have a job if you regularly showed up late?
For most people, the answer to both questions is "no." But allow me to introduce you to the world of Illinois state government — where not only is such behavior permissible, it's incentivized.
Most state government workers are covered by a union contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Tucked away in this contract is an expensive gift: state employees can be up to one hour late for work before their pay is docked. And while workers may be asked to be more adherent to the schedule, there's no limit to how many days state workers can show up late and still be paid for the time they're not there.
Public employees are cashing in on this perk.
In the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, 45 percent of workers self-reported showing up to work late in fiscal year 2013, according to documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Some of these workers said they were late once or twice, but many were repeat offenders. One worker reported showing up to work late 94 times over the course of the year. Another reported arriving late 84 times, documents show.
Read more in our daily News Update...