Private Companies Weigh in On Sick Days

By: Annette Newell/Eyewitness News 9 | WNCT
Published: February 26, 2008

Tonight at six we told you about the issue of sick leave abuse and how it can impact employers in the public sector. But it's an issue in the private sector too. We recently visited Pitt County Memorial Hospital, which is in the throes of peak flu season right now. Nurses in "3 South" are working to help flu patients from across a 29 county area, trying not to catch the bug themselves. Nurse Managers say they juggle with staff shortages as nurses have to call out sick. Hospital President Stephen Lawler told me that usually the hospital's 6,000+ employees are responsible about using their sick leave honestly. Managers have methods for weeding out sick leave abusers, but most of the time it's not necessary. And they have a built- in disincentive that seems to work to prevent sick leave abuse.

“Typically they call in, for employees that have been here less than five years, they take a vacation day on the first day out, and then after that it flips over to sick time,” Lawler said.

Lawler also told me that managers often have to remind the health care workers that they need to stay home if they're sick, and that they usually do not have to worry about employees gaming the system.