Sick leave is time to be used in times of emergencies, not extra pay. No private sector employee I know is able to cash in sick leave upon retirement.
However, I do know a lot of government employees who are able to cash in their sick time for money. Almost all the Wisconsin state and local government employees get extra pay (and that is what it becomes -- pay for work never done) when they retire.
My experience with friends who work for the Feds is that they have good working conditions, low stress, and generous benefits. I don't begrudge good working conditions and good pay, but government employees need to recognize that they don't have it bad.
The private sector is becoming tougher and tougher, benefits are being cut, people are being laid off and raises are virtually nonexistent. Rising health care premiums are leading to reduced takehome pay.
If you work for the government, be thankful for the positives and don't try to make it into some awful form of indentured servitude.
On 9/11 government employees in the Washington DC area gave up the "low stress" part.
Thanks, I work for the State of Wisconsin. When I was in a position responsible for purchasing, I reminded the folks requesting new equipment fairly often that we needed to get as good a price as possible, because we were spending taxpayer money (including taxes we paid). I think it helped my division hold the line.
Sick leave can be converted to help pay insurance premiums, and our vacation time can be "banked" into sabbatical, to be taken when we retire. I took a state job for the bennies - hubby was self-employed, and we had young children. I keep it because I like the people I work with, and the bennies are still good. I like to think I provide value. It is true that not everyone has the same attitude toward taxpayers' largesse.