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If it hasn’t happened already, there may soon be an outbreak of post traumatic stress syndrome at the Luzerne County Courthouse.

Court officials announced last week that they’re cracking down on sick-day abuse.

The revised personnel policy is surprisingly radical for the courthouse. No longer will court employees so easily get away with calling in sick the day after St. Patrick’s Day to nurse a hangover. Or skipping out early on Friday, saying they’re burned out and need some R&R. Also, their supervisors will be paying closer attention to which employees habitually call in sick before and after holidays.

Of course, no one expects the unions to take this sitting down. Employees who can, generally public sector ones, fight back when their time off is challenged.

Who can forget the Hanover Area teachers’ union filing a grievance this year because they had to stay a whole hour after the students left for an early dismissal because of snow which hadn’t even begun to fall? The teachers hit the roof, saying they always got to fly out the door a half hour after the kids. There’s been no update reported on how that turned out.

Policy meant to stop abuse

Court Administrator Michael Shucosky, who, we’re guessing, is now public enemy No. 1, said this revised policy is long overdue. You could say that since it hasn’t been updated since 1997.

County employees, including those who work in the courts, receive 11 to 18 sick days a year, plus five personal days and one to five weeks vacation, the Times Leader reported. When you add Black Friday plus a string of “real” paid holidays, that adds up to between six and 11 ½ weeks of paid time off.

This new policy is meant to stop employees from calling in sick when perhaps they aren’t. One example cited as possible sick-leave abuse would be an employee calling in sick after being given an undesirable work assignment. And what’s from stopping an employee who was denied a request for a day off from conveniently coming down with the flu?

The new rules state that sick days are intended for “rehabilitation and recovery.” While that may make sense to most of us, we’re guessing the county unions may see it differently like, “THAT’S WHAT YOU THINK, BUSTER.”

And to further drive the point home, the policy says, “Sick leave is a privilege, not a right, and can be denied at the court’s discretion if it’s not properly justified or abused.” It says employees suspected of abusing sick leave are subject to disciplinary action.

Good luck. Some union court workers are already privately questioning how officials can enforce these new rules when they’re not part of any collective bargaining agreement, the TL reported. Watch for an epidemic of grievances being filed.

Social media, bullying policies

The policy also includes a provision whereby court employees are “expected to avoid impropriety and conduct themselves in a manner that does not detract from the dignity and independence of the judiciary when engaging in social media.”

You mean to tell us they’re not already doing this? They actually need a policy to tell them to conduct themselves with dignity and to avoid impropriety?

Come to think of it, perhaps they do. In Wilkes-Barre there was no policy in place outlining which and under what circumstances city officials could siphon public gas for their personal vehicles. That was part of the reason county District Attorney Stephanie Salavantis gave for no charges being filed when 67,000 gallons of public fuel went missing.

The revised court policy also addresses bullying. Really? Are we still in high school?

County court employees will no longer be allowed to harass a fellow employee on social media, including calling them offensive nicknames or spreading rumors. So the days of calling a co-worker Dumbbell or spreading a rumor that tipstaff so and so was so tipsy at the Arena Bar the other night, he was asked to leave are over.

And as if these rules aren’t harsh enough already to trigger bouts of nausea, court employees from now on are forbidden from taking credit for a colleague’s idea. It’s unclear whether a boss can steal one from a subordinate.

“We want everyone in the court system to be treated equally, and the best way to do that is to have a fair personnel policy, county President Judge Richard Hughes said.

Who could possibly argue with that?

Certainly not the unions.