Use It and Abuse It

Some federal employees nearing retirement seem to be taking sick leave at higher rates than their younger counterparts, recent studies show, raising concerns about possible abuse and whether a use-it-or-lose-it rule needs to be modified.

When employees covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System retire, they don't receive a benefit offered to those retirees covered by the old Civil Service Retirement System -- the ability to convert unused sick leave into a pension benefit.

The different policies may explain why FERS employees are using more sick leave than their CSRS counterparts as they approach retirement, a report by the Congressional Research Service said.

That pattern of use "lends credence to a longstanding hypothesis -- that FERS employees, who get no value for their unused sick leave, will use that leave rather than simply forfeiting it back to the government at retirement," the report said.

If that is the case, a substantial number of FERS employees may be gaming the system -- treating sick leave like vacation time.

It's relatively easy to take sick time in small amounts. If an employee is absent from work for three days or less, most federal agencies will take the employee's word that it was because of illness or to care for a sick child. For longer absences, agencies may require a doctor's note or other evidence before approving sick-leave requests.

William L. Bransford, general counsel at the Senior Executives Association, said federal managers have developed the perception "that you can't count on FERS employees as much as they get near retirement" because FERS does not offer them an incentive to bank sick leave for conversion into a pension credit or cash.

As more employees in FERS near retirement over the next two decades, managers will face tough decisions on how far to go in questioning employees who call in sick but do a good job when they are at work, Bransford said. "You don't want to accuse someone of abusing sick leave when you don't have the evidence," he said.

The Senior Executives Association and other groups, including the Federal Managers Association and the Professional Managers Association, have formed a Government Managers Coalition to address issues of mutual concern, such as the FERS sick-leave policy.

Darryl A. Perkinson, president of the Federal Managers Association, said the FERS policy can hamper productivity and may even encourage some employees, as they near retirement, to use up their sick leave beyond levels that are prudent for themselves and their families.

FERS, which features a 401(k)-type savings plan, was created by Congress in 1986 and covers more than 1.2 million employees. It is replacing the Civil Service Retirement System, a traditional pension program, which covers about 352,000 employees. By 2014, almost all civilian government employees will be in FERS.

Federal employees in both plans receive 13 days of sick leave each year, and may carry over unlimited amounts from year to year. It's only at retirement that the difference kicks in.