MADISON, Wis. (AP) New rules would require University of Wisconsin faculty to take sick days even when colleagues cover their classes and would financially punish those who fail to report their leave.
The rules could rein in a lucrative benefit for some university employees, who can convert unused sick days into cash to buy health insurance in retirement. They come in response to an audit 14 months ago that suggested UW employees abused the perk by failing to report sick days.
The investigation found the average faculty member had a benefit of $222,000 to buy health insurance upon retirement, three times as much as other state employees. Professors report being sick an average of less than one day per year, far fewer than all other employees, the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau found.