Two county employees were reported to have at least 87 days over a vacation cap implemented in April as supervisors received a six-month status report on balances Tuesday.
In April, supervisors approved a vacation cap for members of the unrepresented employees group, which includes department heads and confidential management staff, in hopes of reining in large payouts of vacation at retirement.
A cap was set at two times the annual accrual rate for the employees. The issue remained that many employees still had balances exceeding the cap that was set.
At the time, supervisors said the unfunded liability in unlimited vacation was about $5.3 million. When they approved the resolution to cap the vacation balance, they provided authority to the county administrative officer to implement a mandatory time-off schedule if the balances are not drawn down below the cap by July 1, 2014.
During the update at Tuesday’s meeting, Management Analyst Jackie Credico said 16 of 26 employees were still over the cap. Two employees were at least 700 to 800 hours over the cap, while nine were up to 200 hours over the cap.
Credico noted that December is a month when many employees would be using vacation time and furloughs so the numbers would come down.
“We’ve only gone a few months into the plan so I’d like to give employees a chance to go with the program,” she said. “In the event it is not depleted by July 1, 2014, the CAO will have authority to implement a mandatory schedule.”
In April, when Credico looked at vacation payouts, she had found one payout that exceeded $100,000 for an employee who had worked for the county for 21 years.
Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz was quick to point out that other, smaller payouts could also add up to large amounts.
Supervisor Robert Rivas on Tuesday thanked Credico for remembering to bring the item back before the board.
“We get overwhelmed and we forget the direction we give to staff,” he said. “I really hope … we don’t have to impose a mandatory schedule.”
Supervisor Anthony Botelho asked if with the next six-month report the supervisors can see the cost savings based on the draw-down of the vacation balance.
“It looks like the numbers are going down and people are making an effort,” Credico said.
By the numbers:
– 100 hours or less over cap – 5 employees
– 100 hours or more over cap – 4 employees
– 200 hours over cap – 3 employees
– 400 hours over cap – 2 employees
– 700 or 800 hours over cap – 2 employees
