grumble: leave

[winterbadger]

OK, so I was curious and went back through my timecards for this year. I've taken three days off without pay (for minor emergencies, seeing repairmen, &c., so as not to cut into actual paid leave), and I've taken a little over nine days' leave (three for reenacting events, six for sickness, doctor visits, etc.) I currently have 13 hours of leave, and I'll accumulate 15 more (if I'm doing the math right) by the end of the year, which makes about three and a half days. So I'll actually have gotten about sixteen days' leave, three of which I got no for. That's our standard allowance (the three I took without pay are because I carried over a deficit from early last year when I was out sick with bronchitis for a couple of weeks.)

Now, federal labor law does not require employers to provide either vacation or sick leave (http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/workhours/vacation_leave.htm and http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/workhours/sickleave.htm), but it strikes me that three weeks time for sick leave and vacation combined is a bit on the stingy side. On the other hand, since a survey by the Urban Institute (http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?NavMenuID=24&template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=8831) suggests that msot people don't even get that, I guess I should count my blessings (that I have a job and it pays me fairly well) and not complain.

Comments

[redactrice.livejournal.com]

That's definitely on the stingy side for salaried white-collar work.

It's obvious that your leave policy was not crafted by a woman. A significant share of women I know get cramps so bad that for at least one day each month, they can barely do more than curl up in a ball. I always wondered whether that's why the federal govt. gives 13 days of sick leave per year--roughly one per month. So women can take off one day a month if they need to.

If such a woman worked for SAIC (your employer), she'd never be able to take a vacation. Doesn't seem very fair to me.

[winterbadger]

I think the expectation (knowing our corporate culture) would be that a woman in those circumstances would take the day off, if she needed to, and then work extra during the rest of the pay period to make up the time if she didn't want to take a day off. Of course, if you work a specific shift and don't get flex time, you're screwed.

But, yes, you can tell the company was set up and has been run by a group of predominantly male engineers.