Obama orders mandatory sick leave days - what will be the impact on military?

2015-09-07T08:26:44-04:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/obama-executive-order-sick-days_55ecf882e4b03784e276240a

Obama issues executive order mandating up to 7 days of paid sick leave per year for all federal employees. Now, I understand (we all understand) that the military has a 'sick on quarters' system in place for such a thing. However, I do not believe the legally the military can be the arbiter of whether you are sick or not, per the new policy, just as a manager of a post office could not dispute whether or not one of his employees were sick.

What are your thoughts on this, and what is the real potential impact? Reading between the lines means if Joe feels sick, then Joe can take sick leave, regardless of his supervisor's feelings about it.

Me personally, I think I might actually use a day or two a year to take care of myself on my own accord, since going to "Sick call" is such a ludicrous waste of time and ridiculous process.

Obama Signs Executive Order On Paid Sick Days

President Barack Obama signed an executive orderon Labor Day requiring that federal contractors provide their employees with paid sick leave, the latest in a string of executive actions aimed at raising

Response by COL Vincent Stoneking made Sep 7 at 2015 9:51 AM

2015-09-07T09:51:52-04:00

So, I would offer two things...
First, this will not apply to the military. It applies to employees of federal contractors. I could argue the appropriateness of the Executive Order, but he is essentially saying that "If you want to do business with the Federal Government, you have to follow what we believe to be Best Human Resources practices." (Such caveats in contracts are not unheard of by any means)

Second, you don't WANT it to. Having worked the vast majority of my life as a civilian, the Army system is BETTER for you than a sick leave system. It was a major culture shock to me when I came on my current orders and was on active duty in a non-deployed environment. People just leave in the middle of the day for an "appointment" or a "spouse's appointment." Other than clearing it with a supervisor, no red tape... As a civilian, I would be burning sick leave hours for that. Here is how that "7 days" works. A "work day" has 8 hours. 8*7 = 56 hours. Any time you are away from work for a medical reason, you put in for the number of hours... Hour 57 is on your own dime - you DON'T GET PAID for it. Imagine being on quarters for a week and finding a deduction for that on your LES.... Moreover, a supervisor CAN demand proof of your actual sickness. Note, this is exceedingly rare in practice, unless you take a number of days in a row (in the case of my employer, they reserve the right to require medical documentation after 3 consecutive days of sick leave). Take it from someone who has experienced both worlds, you want the military system of quarters and permissive ability to go to appointments, and the sick call annoyance is a small price to pay.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 7 at 2015 9:58 AM

2015-09-07T09:58:49-04:00

It is interesting but I think the current military system for dealing with sick days won't be affected and we won't be given additional days that aren't overseen. I definitely understand what you're saying about being able to tell us if we're sick or not, but to a certain extent they can. I've been ordered home when I've come to work sick and I've also been ordered to work when I probably shouldn't be. Although the we share a lot with other government service, the military will always be different.

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Sep 7 at 2015 10:16 AM

2015-09-07T10:16:35-04:00

Of course it will, we are downsizing the military and now policies the increase the pressure on those that are left. What this sets in motion is the old term malingering. On submarines, many of the personnel have been trained for years to assume the variety of technological positions to adequately man (darn, what is the PC term for that?). Time to get underway for an indeterminate period of time and guess what? Someone call in sick or then there is this,
http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=87987

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Secretary Ray Mabus triples maternity leave: 18 weeks for women in the Navy and Marine Corps.
The policy, which is effective immediately, will also apply retroactively to any woman who has been authorized convalescent leave following the birth of a child since Jan. 1, 2015. Under the new policy, commanding officers are required to grant to a woman up to a total of 18 weeks, using a combination of maternity leave and convalescent leave beyond 30 days. A mother does not need to take all of her leave at once; however, she is only entitled to the use of this type of leave within one year of her child's birth.

SECNAV Announces New Maternity Leave Policy

Secretary Ray Mabus triples maternity leave: 18 weeks for women in the Navy and Marine Corps.July 2, Secretary

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Sep 7 at 2015 10:32 AM

2015-09-07T10:32:16-04:00

Another ding on taxpayers but becomes one more thing the unions can't bitch about as much. It becomes part of the cost of doing business, hence gets added to the price the Government pays. It will be interesting how DoL ultimately sorts it out on "piece work" salaries. I find the timing more than coincidental as the polls continue to tank. I'd expect a 20% add to the cost in overall administration.

Response by SFC Joseph Weber made Sep 7 at 2015 2:30 PM

2015-09-07T14:30:11-04:00

It's contractors. Forcing companies with Federal Contract to provide sick leave. Federal employees already have a Ton and in the military if you are sick skies the limit. This is to help minimum wage types being abused by companies paying squat to their employees while collecting big money from the tax payers.