I never understood how a company could pay people for not working. You would think that the company would go bankrupt.

I'm didn't say we deserved it lol. I just stated that was part of my overall benefit package. I get a total of 80 hrs vac. plus 24 additional sick/whatever hrs. My husband works here also and he gets 120 hrs vac and the same sick/whatever hrs. Not sure why they do it but not going to complain.

Sarah,
We don't use a PTO that I'm aware of,but I could be wrong. We get a paid day every quarter to use in addition to our vacation hours. You can play hooky, use them as sick days, or save them and get a payout at the end of the year along with any vacation time you haven't used.

SarahB1: I sense in your tone the attitude that state employees should be eternal giving trees, sacrificing everything for the good of the state. I am a state employee, but I work for the university system as a professor. I don't get any vacation to cash in, so I am not defending myself here. However, I can tell you that these furloughs have been a HUGE sacrifice as my pay wasn't adequate before it was cut. I have huge student loan payments and believe me, if I had vacation to cash in, I would be doing it to help ends meet.

--I'm always fascinated by the government thinking process that says, "We need to make cuts because we don't have enough money. Ok, we'll do furloughs and save on pay. Ok, but we will let the employees use their vacation money to cover any shortfalls in their paychecks. Ok, but how are we going to pay them? Let's make cuts."
--Really? That's the circular logic that runs our state government?

If you don't think the employees have earned the privilege to use a benefit that is set up by their employer than you need to speak or write to their employer not the Gazette Blog.

Another non-solution program -- what did they think was going to happen if employees have the option at any time to cash in vacation? What kind of short-sighted idiot is running this state?

Q: So why did the governor buy the "high speed" train (without tracks to run on) if we were so short on money?
ANS: Same reason Janesville is going to put millions into the ice arena -- budgetary incompetence, ego, and pipe dreams!

P.S. Before its said, no I do not work for a company with a union.

MadeinUSA, there are certainly state positions that are supported by federal funding, but it is not true that all non-OT work by state employees comes from federal funding. In fact payroll is the largest aggregate budget item. And even when federal funding is involved, it is still just part of the "revenue" column of the state budget and fully accounted for.

We get payouts for unused sick days and vacation days were I work. They say it's part of our benefits package and we earned them. So why shouldn't state employees get them?

why is that they get to cash out, 90% of companies make you use it or lose it, why should the state be different.