Sick of the mystery?

The Guild has made a new proposal to The Seattle Times on sick leave. All we want is for the company to agree to commit to a sick-leave policy in the contract, compared to the current language that leaves sick leave up to the employer’s discretion. The Times’ most recent proposal would make reference to their sick-leave policy, but would still give the employer the right to change it at any time.

Our proposal would not incur any new costs for the Times.

Wonder how much sick-leave time you have now? E-mail nchaney@seattletimes.com and ask her for the number of sick-leave days you have available. (The formula is 10 days per year for full-time employees, minus time used.) Please e-mail the Guild at info@pnwguild.org to let us know what you find out.

This is what the Guild has proposed (RED is language to be deleted; BLUE is language to be added):

15.3 Sick Leave: Employees with six (6) months continuous service shall be eligible for sick leave with pay upon the first workday of illness. The Guild will work with the Publisher to prevent unwarranted and/or excessive use of sick pay benefits. On the third (3rd) occurrence of sick leave in a calendar year the Publisher will review the employee's sick leave record for pattern of days off and long term usage. The Publisher may place the employee on a six (6) month evaluation period during which he/she shall not receive sick leave pay for the first day of illness. Upon correction of excessive use, the employee will be returned to the Publisher's regular policy and procedure.

15.3.1 The Publisher retains the right to determine the length of time sick leave benefits shall continue. Full-time employees shall be allowed ten (10) days (80 hours) of paid sick leave each calendar year; amounts will be pro-rated for employees working fewer than full-time hours. Unused sick-leave days shall be carried forward into following years. Sick-leave credits will be canceled upon termination of employment for any reason (unless an employee is reinstated to employment as a result of arbitration). Upon ratification of this Agreement, the Publisher shall provide employees with an accounting of the number of paid sick days in their sick-leave “bank,” based on the formula of ten (10) days of sick leave per year of service, less time used, and pro-rated for employees working fewer than full-time hours.

15.3.2 For the period a sick employee is continued on the payroll, the Publisher may deduct that amount received by an employee under the Washington State Workers' Compensation Act.

15.3.3 Employees who receive sick leave pay under this section shall, upon request, submit to an examination by a doctor selected by the Publisher and sign a medical release pertaining to that examination.

15.3.4 The intent of paid sick leave is to provide income to eligible employees who are absent from work because of a personal illness of the employee (whether or not the absence is qualified under the Family and Medical Leave Act), or to care for a family member with an illness as allowed under the Washington Family Care Act.