A lot has been made of late in the SUN about the Dracut Selectman giving New Year’s Eve off as an added holiday to some town employees. Some say it is just another of the many “perks” public employees receive.
I know of several occasions where public workers ranging from Police, DPD employees, DPW workers and teachers who have taken a day off to participate at a Charity Golf Tournament or leave for a vacation trip a day early.
I recently received information about some teachers who were asked to participate at a charity golf tournament representing their school. They paid for the cost of the golf but were not charged a vacation or personal day because the Superintendent wanted to have the school represented at a worthwhile fundraiser. It was considered a “business” day because they were there to represent the school.
I have no issue with any of the above scenario’s but I am sure some do and that leads me to ask if during contract negotiations should Manager’s / School Committee’s / Superintendent’s etc. restrict what a public employee can do on time off granted in the contract and should City Councils, School Committee’s and Selectman set restrictions on allowing public employee’s to “Represent” their city/town/ school while on the clock at ANY Charity Event ?
Is it wrong for teachers, police, city or state workers to be paid a days pay to represent their city or school at a charity function? Isn’t networking a good thing? In the private sector we see it done often. I’m betting we will at some point soon see someone trying to make this a big deal. Is it?
How many public employees are at the ST. Patrick’s Day Breakfast when it runs after 9:00 am? Is it okay for the City Manager to teach a class at 8:00 am a couple days a week and get into the office at 10:00? Where should the line be drawn? Does it depend as always if it involves people we like versus those we don’t?
Should the public be upset that a teacher or Superintendent uses a vacation day or personal day to leave early for a vacation? If the time is theirs and they have it should the public be informed of what they use their time doing? Should they have restrictions and would Unions allow this?
I worked at a printing company that didn’t allow Vacation time to be used in July or August because that was their busiest time. The State of Mass said that this company was allowed to set restrictions because they didn’t have to give vacation time.
If it can be done in the private sector, should we be able to do it in the public sector?
So what do you think? Should tighter restrictions be placed on public sector employees?
The problem is not that public employees were given a paid day off. The problem is that the building was closed for taxpayers that wanted to conduct business with the town. Town hall is only open during normal business hours therefore people that also work regular business hours generally have to juggle their schedule to conduct town business. This reinforces the perception that the general public is less important than the public servants.
Good Morning Gerry,
In every union contract I have been apart of in the public sector there are clauses for vacation and personal time. All personal and vacation time must be approved by management under management’s rights and the vacation and personal day article within the contract.
Management has the right to determine the number of employees needed at any given time (as to not have to pay overtime and have proper staffing) and not let an employee take certain time off. As long as they do not discriminate and the restriction applies to all employees I believe management has the right under the contract to place restrictions on public employees.
One municipality I worked for did not allow employees to take off holidays if the employee was scheduled to work on that day. This is a management function for government and government can apply the same restriction as your company did as long as there are staffing requirements per contract.
Erik
It was a long time ago, but my Father, a GS-13 Safety Engineer at a Navy Shipyard, told me he was on salary and he put in the time needed for the job, not “40 hours”. Incidently, I had to get up early if I wanted a glance at the newspaper before he left for work. At his job, he managed to set a record for man-hours worked without a lost time accident, for his class of industrial facility. So, I am not personally rigid about these things, but, for example, with government contracts one must account for all the hours.
If Professor L teaches, but covers the work, he is not only out there making contact with the community (having taken the course, it isn’t all young kids in the classroom) and he is helping students learn about state and local government from a reflective practitioner. If half of City Hall was doing it, I would say take a look, but that isn’t the case. “It is the exception that tests the rule.”
If someone wants to use vacation time to “build a bridge” (as the Italians might say) from Sunday to a Christmas Tuesday, fine. Back when I sat 24 hour alert, batchelors covered Christmas and married guys New Years. Should the store be uncovered? No. But, a reasonable manager probably judges that little work is being accomplished Christmas Eve and some or all folks can be sent home. But, your July and August example helps us think about it. Meeting customer needs is fundamental, but keeping employees sharp is also. Were there not other times with appropriate vacation?
As an example, I thought the GLTHS School Committee hit the right note this last couple of weeks.
Regards — Cliff