How Much Sick Pay Should Lower Workers Get?

VILLAS — At what rate should Lower Township employees be paid for sick leave and how much compensatory (comp) time should they use? Those were questions raised by resident Joe Winters at a Mon., Oct. 17 Township Council meeting.
Township Manager Michael Voll said the payout for unused sick time when an employee retires or accepts a buyout is at their current rate of pay. Winters asked why sick time was paid at the employees’ current rate of pay when they may have earned a lower rate of pay in earlier years.
Voll said there was a cap of $15,000 on unused sick time for new township employees. He said there were still a number of “old timers,” due sick pay at their current rate of pay.
“But it’s not earned at that rate,” said Winters.
Councilman Tom Conrad said last year when police officers took comp time instead of being paid overtime, comp time had to be taken within 18 months or it was lost. He said normally comp time must be taken within one year.
Township Clerk Claudia Kammer said compensation for unused sick time was included in employee labor contracts.
Winters said township employee labor contracts will expire in December. He questioned why sick time would continue to be paid at an employee’s current rate of pay when the time may have accrued when the employee earned a lesser rate of pay.
Mayor Michael Beck said state law could prevent the township from lowering the rate of sick pay for current employees.
Township Labor Attorney Bill Blaney, who was in the audience waiting for council to go into closed session, said federal and state statutes governed comp time. He said police officers could work 42 hours per week before overtime pay was applied.
Blaney said police officers must be paid time and a half or be given comp time to prevent running up overtime costs. He said officers can be required to take time off rather than receive overtime pay.
Blaney said police here are very busy during the summer and could be required to take comp time in the winter when the situation is much quieter.
He said an employee in the private sector, such as someone who worked in a retail store who was paid an hourly wage, was entitled to time and a half and must be paid overtime rather than given comp time. Blaney said public employees were granted an exception to use comp time.
He said the township was governed by civil service regulations which set a minimum rate for sick time. There is also a statute that governs the maximum payout for sick time, said Blaney.
He said civil service statutes stated vacation time should be used within one year of being earned or it is lost.
“Sick time they allow you to accumulate because you have people, God forbid, get cancer or something like that and be out for six months and you want them to continue to earn their time,” said Blaney.
He said legislation was passed three to four years ago that capped unused sick time payouts because school employees in north Jersey “were walking away with a quarter million dollars or $80,000 and it wasn’t viewed to be fair so they capped it at $15,000.”
Lower Township employees accepting “terminal leave,” have received figures as high as $50,000 to $70,000.