Quote Originally Posted by cassiesmom View Post
There was an editorial in the Chicago Tribune (or maybe a letter to the editor) about a Chicago teacher who retired with 325 unused sick days. In Illinois, by law you get paid for accrued but unused sick time. That's like an extra 11 months pay.

I've rarely taken my entire two weeks because of my cat, and because of having to arrange for coverage at the different places I've worked when I worked in the hospital I was hourly and the time accrued faster, so I did take it. I used up a lot of vacation days when I was in grad school, too.
Actually teachers work 180-200 days per year. So he had almost 2 years of vacation days. If we have unused sick days, these are not reimbursed at daily pay. In our state, it's usually $10 -15 per unused day. Some counties have a 90 limit. Pay you for those days over 90 days. Others have unlimited days. Don't know about Chicago or Illinois.

There are studies saying Americans work to hard at everything and don't relax enough. My mother could turn a vacation into a job. I like doing both. It's fun to visit places; it's also nice to sit back and watch the grass grow.