[11/26/03]Employees just don’t understand, Vicksburg officials said Tuesday while unanimously adopting an amended sick leave policy.

The rule now says hourly employees who don’t give notice two days before being sick will not have an unexcused absence logged in their personnel files. In a distinction that’s less-than-clear, employees who give less than 48 hours’ notice will be treated as if they didn’t call in at all.

“We recognize that we have a problem” with employee absences, personnel director Lamar Horton said. “This is a simple policy that is used throughout the country in both public and private sectors.”

Employees who give less than the required advance notice for sick leave will be paid from their accumulated hours of personal leave, if they have any, under the policy. For the second and subsequent sick leave days, sick hours will be used.

In discussions last week, Mayor Laurence Leyens said he thought the change was misguided. He voted for it, as modified, on Tuesday.

“It’s not about your baby being sick,” Leyens said.

“Did you change it?” asked City Attorney Nancy Thomas.

“No,” Leyens said.

He said that instead of absences without 48-hour notice being logged as “unexcused,” they will be logged in personnel files as “without approval.”

Horton said the purpose is to reduce abuse of the city’s sick pay. During their first year, city employees earn eight hours of sick leave every 30 days, and sick time can be accrued over the employees’ career.

Under the guidelines, employees who have six absences without prior approval will receive a verbal warning, seven will result in a written warning and the ninth will bring possible termination. Horton said the policy should not affect employees who do not abuse the city’s sick policy because the average American worker misses only three days annually due to illness.

“We know nobody can call in two days in advance of being sick,” said North Ward Alderman Gertrude Young. “That’s not the intention whatsoever.”

South Ward Alderman Sid Beauman said he is not “totally satisfied” with the new guidelines and invited city employees and citizens to come up with a better solution. He also defended Horton, the first new department head hired when members of the administration took office 2 1/2 years ago.

“Lamar Horton has done a tremendous job since he came to the city,” Beauman said. “It’s a no-win situation sitting there doing this because someone is going to rip apart anything he writes.”

The guidelines will not affect the mayor and aldermen, division heads or other salaried employees. Leyens said the board plans to create more management tools.