Free Republic

Workers who fall sick during their annual leave are entitled to take corresponding paid leave at a later date, the EU's top court has ruled. The European Court of Justice ruling is legally binding throughout the EU. Thursday's ruling was prompted by a Spanish trade union case against a group of department stores. "The right to paid annual leave cannot be interpreted restrictively," the court says. The UK does not have an opt-out in this area of EU labor law. The court in Luxembourg said the EU Working Time Directive grants workers a right to at least four weeks' paid...

Deputies say teacher who skipped class went to motel to work as prostitute Wednesday, February 11, 2009 11:38 AM By Holly Zachariah THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio -- It was a delicate conversation, to be sure: the school principal telling a class of fourth-graders this morning that their teacher is absent because she was arrested yesterday at the local Super 8 Motel. There was little, if any, discussion about how 35-year-old Amber Carter had apparently gone to the hotel to be paid for sex. Carter had taken a half-day of sick leave yesterday, said Bellefontaine City Schools Superintendent Larry Anderson....

A South African man has been fined $140 for taking a week off work, telling his employers he was pregnant. Charles Sibindana, 27, stole a certificate from a clinic during his pregnant girlfriend's checkup, a court near Johannesburg heard. He then added his own details to the note and submitted it and took seven days off work, seemingly unaware that only women consult gynaecologists. His employers became suspicious and investigated the matter.