Sick leave

During the two years Clark County managers have been keeping a close eye on Fire Department sick time — examining charges that some firefighters were abusing the system — employees cut back on sick leave requests by a whopping 57,000 hours.

In a Monday memo to commissioners, Assistant County Manager Ed Finger wrote that average annual sick time for Fire Department rank-and-file employees decreased from 227 hours to 136 hours per employee during the same time period compared with 2009.

Sick time among battalion chiefs has fallen from an average of 164 hours per employee to 16 hours.

Commissioner Steve Sisolak, who pushed for the investigations, said this week he had “no idea (the hours) would fall to this extent. I think it verifies what I said at the time, that there was a large amount of abuse regarding sick leave.”

Firefighters’ sick leave can be costly because tight staffing often requires those who fill in for absent co-workers on short notice to be paid overtime — usually for 24 hours.

County officials are currently negotiating a new contract with the firefighters union. Both parties should consider switching to an undifferentiated “paid time off” system that eliminates any temptation for employees to fake illness, as well as any requirement for administrators to demand a note from a physician.

Yes, workers in all walks of life really do get sick, and they should be able to stay home when they do. But most time off can be scheduled well in advance.

Commissioner Tom Collins may argue all he likes that abuse was not “rampant,” that it’s “not the entire workgroup, it’s a few people.” When he can pencil out the math and show us how “a few people” can use 57,000 hours of sick time in a two-year period, we’re confident he’ll let us know.

Meantime, the Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI are conducting their own probe, which could turn into a criminal investigation. Stay tuned.