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Teacher faces termination after calling in sick for 2 days to attend a concert in Nashville, district says

https://www.wsmv.com/2024/04/04/teacher-faces-termination-after-calling-sick-2-days-attend-concert-nashville-district-says/

A high school English teacher in Ohio is facing termination after she allegedly called out of work sick for two days to attend a concert in Nashville, Tennessee, district records show.

Teacher faces termination after calling in sick for 2 days to attend a concert in Nashville, district says

126 comments

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Garbanzo

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Mental health maintenance is a valid reason to use sick leave, and getting out of town to have some fun is exactly what people need from time to time. Her union should hire her a good lawyer to tell the district to pound sand.

Railcar8095

•

The issue in this case is that if was planned with some time in advanced and notified the same day/day before.

If a coworker has any kind of emergency (family, health, mental) and takes the day off, I will sympathize, regardless of how that impacts me. If it's planned but not communicated not so much.

Of course, I live in a country with 22+ paid days off + "unlimited" sick days and I in my role we usually are flexible with the time off. With very different conditions that might be more understandable.

Garbanzo

•

When you live in a country where your vacation requests can be denied arbitrarily you might be tempted to just say 'fuck em' and let them know it's not optional the day before you skip work.

schmidtster

•

Problem is, no one admits that and lies about it. So here we are. A lawyer can only help so much when you lie about it.

Azamandriel

•

And they wonder why it is hard to find teachers.

Pandantic

•

As an educator, I’m shocked … that they have the backup subs and/or a replacement teacher to justify losing a teacher over this.

BigMikeInAustin

•

In America, we act first, and deny the responsibility to acknowledge consequences.

FunkPhenomenon

•

sentient_loom

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Isn't there a never-ending supply of substitute teachers who are desperate for a full time job? That's what I hear from teachers in Canada.

GlendatheGayWitch

•

Not so much in the US. At least in my state, they don't have enough subs and have to double up classes when a teacher is sick.

Pandantic

•

Same, to the extent we have a google form to fill out when we cover an opening on our prep so we get compensated for it.

Pandantic

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Where I work in the US midwest, we are lucky if we get coverage when we take time off (let alone call-in sick) and are understaffed in all departments teacher-level and below payscale-wise (para, custodial, transportation, etc.). But I’m sure it’s different depending on the location, but that’s my experience.

Ilovemyirishtemper

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Omg I wish that were true! We can't get decent (or any) subs like 95% of the time. It used to be that you could sub with a bachelor's degree and a substitute certificate or any teaching license. Now, we're so desperate that it's basically any adult who can pass a background check. Most of the time, teachers just ended up skipping their prep time to cover the missing teacher's class.

sentient_loom

•

Start advertising in New Brunswick and Ontario (Canada) because there are many teachers in years-long queues waiting to finally land an actual job.

Ilovemyirishtemper

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Yeah, but Canadians don't want to work as a teacher in the US. Like, it would be a bad idea for y'all because you would lose so much. We treat our teachers far worse. You'd get crappier pay, be treated like dirt by a large chunk of the populace, run the ever-increasing chance of getting shot on the job, and have to start paying health insurance premiums out of you light paycheck.

sentient_loom

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Agreed. I guess this also explains why nobody wants to work as a teacher in the USA.

ptz

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BossDj

•

This is the best thing I've seen today. Thank you

RaoulDook

•

Strangely applicable

reddig33

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Good for you lady. Life is short and teachers don’t get paid enough.

Chakravanti

•

There won't be any teachers soon.

BigMikeInAustin

•

In the US, that's by design. But there will be theologists at private schools! And being private they can choose who attends.

eardon

•

Yeah. Good for her abusing a system paid for by our tax dollars to listen to racist music live.

ArcaneSlime

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Racist music?

Just because it's Nashville? Unless I missed it they didn't say what she was going to. How do you know it wasn't Drake and J.Cole at the Bridgestone Arena Feb 8th 2024, which would line up with the dates in the article?

Just because it's country? How do you know it wasn't Charley Crockett?

Just because you make stupid baseless assumptions based on your own biased preconceived notions? Well maybe we're onto something here.

Your taxes are paying her wages, including sick days and paid vacation, whether she uses them on actual sickness or not, fuck it, let her have a little joy in her life.

bitwaba

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I think everyone from all walks of life should have to listen to 1hr of Wheeler Walker Jr. every day. Thats what I want my tax dollars going towards.

ArcaneSlime

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I support this fully.

Classy

•

I sucked another dick last night....

Ilovemyirishtemper

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I always thought it was weird when people told me their tax dollars pay my salary. Yeah, my tax dollars pay my salary too. It's not like my income was tax free.

slurpeesoforion

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Muh tax dollars!

Ilovemyirishtemper

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Also, as a side note, teachers don't get vacation time. Yes, they get a lot of time off for holidays and summer, but they are not allowed to choose their vacation. So if there is something you want to do really badly, but it falls during the school year, well, tough titties. This includes people's weddings or other major events like the birth of a nephew or something. Basically, if it's not legally mandated that you can take off for it, you don't get to take off. Fine. You take the good and bad with each job, and this just requires a lot more prescheduling and paying more money to go places during the busy seasons (which usually coincides with students being off school).

Her sick time, though, is part of her compensation package, but for some reason, she's not allowed to use it? When I left the education system, I had 40 unused sick days because it was heavily frowned upon to be out sick. Did I get those paid out when I left? Nope. You just lose them. They get (40 days x 8 hours per day =) 320 hours that they get to just not pay me for or have to pay a sub for.

Those days off are part of her compensation package, meaning that instead of giving her a higher wage, they make the trade-off for other benefits, like those sick days. So there is a dollar figure that corresponds to each of those days that they are being paid with, and the general public seems to think they should just donate those benefits (which are the equivalent to money) to the government. Would you donate money to the government?

This is on top of the fact that teachers are not allowed to get overtime. This is on top of the low wages. This is on top of having to purchase their own supplies with that meager wage. This is on top of the high pressure and responsibility of the job. This is why over 50% of teachers leave the field completely within 5 years. I barely made it to 8 years before leaving.

I now work in the private sector making double what I did as a teacher, can take off whenever I want, and have a job that is a hundred times easier. When I have a difficult day at work, I remind myself that it's still easier than teaching. My 3 weeks of vacation now is still better than the 12 weeks I got off as a teacher (most of which were spent sick as my body tried to recover from finally getting a moment without stress). They lost an excellent educator because I finally said f-it.

I don't give a crap if she did see a concert. She should be able to use the time that she is being paid with instead of donating it. The tax dollars that she "cost" the taxpayers were already budgeted. Your taxes did not increase because she chose to use her sick time.

AmosBurton

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ASeriesOfPoorChoices

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spoken like the welfare queen you are.

aniki

•

Why is this in the news

inclementimmigrant

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So, this whole "article" is pretty light on any details here.

Was this her first offense? Did she have vacation time and chose not to use it? Did she use up all of her vacation time and then chose to take sick days? Did she have other offenses that led up to this termination call?

I mean when I used to have a job with vacation/sick leave, no one ever got sacked for taking a sick day or two to just have some time off, UNLESS, it was chronic, you had other performance issues, or you used up all of your vacation and decided to game the system and took like a week long holiday anyways and got caught.

elbarto777

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Was this in the U.S.? If in the U.S., sick days are ridiculously limited. So you're damn right I'm going to use them all up through the year.

In Europe is different. They have protections for workers.

93maddie94

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Most places I’ve taught in the US don’t have vacation days. You have sick days (10 a year, they stack), and personal days (3 a year, max of 5 before they turn into sick days).

Ilovethebomb

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What a hellhole.

BombOmOm

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Do remember teachers generally have three full months of off time every year, in addition to the above mentioned days.

loobkoob

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Do remember that teachers generally work far, far longer each day than just 9-5. Their paid hours often don't give them time for lesson planning and marking.

Ilovemyirishtemper

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Do remember that their "summers off" (which are often used to prep for the following year) are unpaid. Do also remember that when a person has been extremely stressed, their immune system will kick into high gear, helping to ward off illness during a time when energy is needed elsewhere. I.e. every paid break is spent being sick because your body finally went back to a normal immune system as you decompress. This, in turn, makes it difficult to enjoy your only actual vacation time.

FinalRemix

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Yooo! Your personal days turn into sick days?! Goddamn, that's nice. Ours are just use-or-lose.

108

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Place I used to work at had your vacation days stack. Changed a lot to where it was use or lose and were able to not approve for what ever reason. Also told us not to take off around major holidays.

Changed out healthcare on us too. Became much worse. Found out high level employees had better vacation and better healthcare plans on top of that.

GlendatheGayWitch

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Wow, I've never had that much time off when working. We get 5 sick days from the state and 0-5 from the district. You lose any district days that you don't use, but you keep any state days that aren't used.

One of the teachers had never taken a day off in his 30+ years and had a ton of state days. They wouldn't let him donate more than 5 to a teacher who just gave birth, so she had to come back to work after just 2 months.

inclementimmigrant

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Woof, that sucks, this would be the only time I would be in favor of PTO.

JoBo

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Did she have vacation time and chose not to use it?

Teachers typically can't take vacation time during the school term.

Etterra

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Most places these days lump theb two together into "PTO" - mostly to shave a week or two of paid time put off us poor ununioned drones. Because America and capitalism suck.

RaoulDook

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In the USA I get 3 weeks paid vacation, 3 personal days, and more sick days than I ever need, about 2-3 accrue per month. But I have a good job, best one I've had yet.

Just an example of what is available out there to look for.

inclementimmigrant

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Don't get me started on PTO. Give me back my vacation and sick days.

derpgon

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But including all those detail wouldn't make for a good ol' ragebait article!

RBWells

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That's funny because my kids' teachers all said no matter what we were actually doing, to just call the kids in as "sick". Even if it was something else that was an excused absence. Sick was always the right answer.

My dad said for time off work, always say "urgent personal business" and leave it at that.

woodenskewer

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There's this third party hotline we use to call in so it's kind of separated in that they may not know our actual policy. Regardless anyone that has personal time knows what it's for.

I called to use a personal day. "Hi I'm calling off for my shift tomorrow. I want to use a personal holiday."

"Ok, why are you calling off?"

"Because I'm using a personal holiday. I have 30 hours left I want to use 10 tomorrow please."

"Ok I have you for 10 hours personal holiday I just need a reason"

"I don't need to provide a reason. It's a personal holiday. As long as it's no less than 8 hours before my shift, I just tell you guys I want to use a personal holiday. I don't have to provide a reason."

"So you don't want to provide a reason?"

"No, thank you."

That was basically the end of the conversation but I was just like "holy fuck lady please just stop" at the end. No one gives reasons for vacation days and personal holidays. Sick days ( if you're lucky enough to have sick time) are implied. Even if I called off, didn't have time to use and ate points, are you going to give me less points if I provide a reason? No. We're not going to do that. We're just being fucking nosey.

BallsandBayonets

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"I have plans" even if the plan is to sit on the couch in your underwear eating cheetos. "I'm going out of town" is similarly vague but people accept it.

That said I appreciate people like you who stick up for yourselves.

rab

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Your dad's wrong I think. If I used that excuse at my work it would sound sketch af. Just say "not feeling well today".

Ultraviolet

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Also if they question the details, a mention of explosive diarrhea stops the questions very quickly.

Riven

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That's my go to lul. After a while I just need to rub my stomach and they know what I mean. They all think I'm a fat pos with a shit diet. Little do they know I actually eat really healthily and have been losing weight. I just like mental health days.

rab

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eardon

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I'm not sure why this is getting upvoted aside from the snowball effect.

I've never had a teacher say what your "teachers" have said.

tocopherol

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TenderfootGungi

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I have a family member that is a teacher. She gets 2 vacation days a year. The school argues it’s fair because they get summers off.

Avg

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Unless they are getting paid over the summer, it's not time off.

Animated_beans

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Most teachers get paid over the summer. Some districts allow you to get paid just during the weeks you work, but most spread the paychecks out over the year.

leidkultur

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Another day on the internet where I as a European am horrified what Americans put up with. Here in germany teaching is one of the best paid profession and of course they get paid during holidays.

In Finland even more so: the social status of teachers there is higher than doctors and lawyers. And they are constantly topping international comparisons of education systems.

How did you guys not start a revolution yet?!!?

jjjalljs

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We have a lot of conservatives. That's kind of the root of a lot of our problems, really.

Ilovethebomb

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Too dumb and uneducated to know what one is.

interdimensionalmeme

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Too busy with that nose on the grind stone to think how things could be different.

EnderMB

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My wife is a teacher.

The problem with "summer holidays" is that you ultimately need to prep for your new classes, so you're starting before the kids get in. Alongside this, going on holiday is very expensive, since holiday prices are jacked up when the kids are out of school.

It's a very stressful job with few perks. With that being said, in the UK the pay isn't awful if you make it to a good level. It's still arguably low for the hours they put in.

GlendatheGayWitch

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They aren't being paid for summer though. Most teachers have a daily rate of pay for each work day. They then take that and divide it by 12 and pay the teachers once a month.

The paychecks received in June and July are for work done earlier in the year that are delayed so that teachers can budget easier and so the district can earn some interest on it.

doubletwist

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No they don't, at least not in Texas. Here they get paid for the school year. Then they have the option to CHOOSE to have their pay spread out throughout the year. But unless they are teaching summer school, which is additional pay, they are not paid for the summer.

kerrigan778

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They have their paycheck spread out, they are not paid FOR that time.

Avg

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Where I'm at, the teacher can opt in to take some of thwir salary and put it aside automatically to continue to receive a salary during the summer, most of my teachers growing up had another job during that time.

Ilovemyirishtemper

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Right, but that's not the same as getting paid over summer. All you're doing is deferring some of your current paycheck until then. I quit teaching in June and "got paid" through the end of August. Not because they are paying a teacher who quit, but because that was money I had already earned, and they were just hanging on to it for me.

eardon

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They do get paid over the summer.

projectsquared

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This is not true.

eardon

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Yes it is.

projectsquared

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Teacher for 20 years. No, it isn’t.

I’m not responding further as this person is simply spreading misinformation to spread misinformation.To anyone else reading this, a simple web search will prove these statements about teachers being paid when they aren’t working false.

kyle

•

It might depend on the school district, but my family has worked for 3 different ones across a couple states, and they would not get paid monthly or anything over the summer. First check for them would come in September even, and we start school in mid to late August around here.

IIRC they would get a larger sum at the end of the school year to hold them over til the fall. I vaguely recall my step mom talking about how every year there would be a teacher who budgets poorly and forgets the first paycheck isn't until September.

stoly

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No, they get consistent paychecks by taking a chunk from each so that you get paid over breaks.

eardon

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The actual answer is they get to choose.

stoly

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This certainly depends on your locale.

eardon

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Draedron

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Teachers work during vacations. They need to prepare the next school year. Instead of using this to fight for more vacation for everyone you choose to use it as an argument to wish for less for teachers.

kyle

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2 days off during the school year is insane, but teachers don't really work during summer vacation. If the school picks a new book for their class then there's work. They're really just required to show up a couple weeks before school starts, at least in my state.

My step mom and her whole family were teachers (5 total). Ranging from kindergarten to high school. I don't think any of them had as little as 2 days off allowed per school year, but I imagine some districts could be that shitty.

eardon

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Are you joking? They 'work' about 2 weeks before students show up.

Prepare what for the next school year? They follow a curriculum that is laid out for them and it doesn't change drastically from year to year.

I genuinely believe you are just going to say whatever you think will make you fit in with the crowd without even realizing it.

jpreston2005

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that's not how teaching works. go talk to an actual teacher.

eardon

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I did. My mother was literally a public school teacher so I got to witness it firsthand.

ASeriesOfPoorChoices

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Draedron

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Why is this news?

EdibleFriend

•

What concert tho

Crackhappy

•

Jonny Cash and the Deadites I assume.

atx_aquarian

•

If it was 2 days in Nashville, I want to believe it was for BTBAM's 2-day/2-part concert "Colors II Experience" on March 26 and 27 at Basement East.

edit: nm

Documents ... say that Washburn “falsified sick leave” on Feb. 8 and 9...

Passerby6497

•

Fuck, I'd bail on work for 2 days to see BTBAM like that. I never got to see colors live.

rab

•

Washburn told several colleagues that she was attending a concert in Nashville.

Oops

abbotsbury

•

Rookie mistake

cosmicrookie

•

If this is news then i should be a celebrity by now!

Not that i get fired a lot, but far more exciting things happen to me, than this!

rusticus

•

TL/DR; Honest person penalized for doing something millions of people do dishonestly.

The continued rewarding of dishonesty shapes society.

henfredemars

•

eardon

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Good.

Ilovethebomb

•

I mean, that's what happens when you pull a sickie to go to a concert.

elbarto777

•

No. Not really.

Sick time is personal time.

Ilovethebomb

•

Yeah, no.

elbarto777

•

Uh, yes.

Hawk

•

If she needed to falsify it, probably not

Vespair

•

She owes them literally nothing more than "I won't be in today."

Despite what shitty bosses want you to think you are not required to divulge the nature of your absence to your employer when using allowable sick days.

elbarto777

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That's more a symptom of a rotten system that oppresses workers than an issue with her. I'm kinda surprised to see people like you on Lemmy.

Ilovethebomb

•

Normal people?

aniki

•

Cunts that side with management.

Mastengwe

•

SaltySalamander

•

Here's hoping you're not, and never will be, anyone's boss.

Mastengwe

•

93maddie94

•

Teachers don’t have vacation days. They get 10 sick days per year. They get 3 personal days. It’s very possible the only leave she had were sick days.

•

•

•

•

You know all about her from this rage bait story? Enough to end her career? You're a fraud.

BreakDecks

•

You need to calm down.

MisterFeeny

•

Nah, fuck that. If she had sick days they are hers to decide how to use em.

Ilovethebomb

•

Uhh, no. Sick days are for when you're sick. Annual leave is for when you do stuff like this.

Christ, this platform beggars belief sometimes.

catloaf

•

Are they separate for her? Does unused sick time get paid out like leave time if unused? Or do they have unlimited sick time?

93maddie94

•

I my experience with teaching in the U.S. sick days do get paid out at retirement. Teachers typically get 10 sick days a year and 3 personal days. The sick days stack but personal days turn to sick days after you have 5 banked.

Pandantic

•

My personal days disappear if unused.

sentient_loom

•

People are treating you like an asshole for your heartlessness. But they're not giving you enough credit for also being an idiot.

Ilovethebomb

•

Really? Feel free to prove me wrong.

aniki

•

Why you're the cunt

Ilovethebomb

•

No source, just anger. Cool.

Test_Tickles

•

Sick days are part of your compensation package. They are yours to do whatever the fuck you want with. There's a reason most companies don't call them sick days anymore.

Ilovethebomb

•

That is factually incorrect.

Oisteink

•

Can you bring some of these facts?

I know nothing about US workers law, only that they get like 12 days off per year, and working days are like 10+ hrs

Ilovethebomb

•

The fact they're called sick days, and not leave days, should be a hint.

Oisteink

•

Ah - so so there’s no rules or laws that apply, it’s all based on what it’s called. I never understood how US functions but I’m getting a better feel now. Thank you

brygphilomena

•

In use them as I'm sick ~~of my companies bullshit~~ days

Pandantic

•

Teachers in the US generally don’t have “annual leave”.

SquishyPandaDev

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She wouldn't have to have used sick days if this God damn country had basic worker rights and gave people vacation time. Oh and a side note, many companies will 100% fire you if you use your vacation days. Fuck the American work environment

Ilovethebomb

•

No argument about that one, the way the states treats workers is shocking.

Ilovemyirishtemper

•

As someone who works in an "at will" state, I agree. This absolutely happens.

Mastengwe

•

Ilovemyirishtemper

•

And replace her with whom?