Top members of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s administration have received tens of thousands of dollars for unused sick, vacation and compensatory time, payouts a city councilwoman contends are illegal.
Atlanta Police Chief George Turner, the city’s top earner with a $241,000 annual salary, was paid $79,000 last year for hundreds of hours in unused vacation time, according to an investigation by Channel 2 Action News.
What’s more, two deputies in Reed’s administration each received payments nearing $30,000 for unused sick, vacation and comp time, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned. Three employees received far smaller payments for sick and vacation leave. And also, in the past two years, at least three other employees have been given advance pay — effectively a loan against future earnings.
It’s unclear whether any city laws were broken. The cash payments, approved by Human Resources Commissioner Yvonne Yancey and Chief Financial Officer Jim Beard, totaled more than $153,000 for six employees beginning in 2012, according to data provided by Reed’s administration. Yancey and Beard also approved loaning three employees a combined $12,000.
Reed spokeswoman Melissa Mullinax said the administration believes it has the authority to give employees who are experiencing a “hardship” — such as medical or family emergencies — cash for unused time.
“These people found themselves in a very tough situation and, as an employer, the city thinks it’s appropriate to provide assistance where and when they can,” Mullinax said. “These are hours that they earned and are due to them.”
Mullinax couldn’t point to a section of the code or produce legislation authorizing the payments. Attorneys for the city say the law is “confusing” and want to clarify it with the Atlanta City Council, Mullinax said.
But District 9 Councilwoman Felicia Moore said the law is clear on what is allowed — and what isn’t.
“There is no confusion. … The code not only tells you what you can’t do, but tells you what you have the authority to do,” Moore said. “They don’t have any authority to do it, and they certainly can’t do it without council approval.”
Under city law, employees can only receive cash for vacation time if they quit, are fired, retire or are laid off, Moore said. But several of the employees received money for unused vacation while still working for the city.
City code also contains few provisions allowing for employees to receive cash for sick leave. The law states that employees experiencing “emergencies” due to “protracted illness” may receive advanced time off for sickness with the approval of the city’s human resources commissioner and chief financial officer.
Another section allows employees who have accumulated 30 days of sick leave to receive cash for one-fourth of the accumulated sick leave beyond 30 days. The other three-fourths can be added to a “sick leave reserve fund.”
Moore wants an investigation into the payments and said the employees should pay back the money. She called for Reed to discipline Yancey and Beard for approving the payments.
Mullinax said all city employees are eligible for these payments, though she couldn’t provide a written policy of how to collect the benefit.
Neil Reichenberg, executive director of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources, said how governments manage such perks and benefits varies. But without clear and widely disseminated policies, the city is vulnerable to potential discrimination claims.
“What are the standards for determining who gets the payouts and who doesn’t? Are there limits as to what you can get, and if so, how do you determine what those limits are? And who determines reasonable or unreasonable hardship?” he said.
“It’s not so much the ones you approve you worry about, it’s the ones you deny,” he continued. “They could say ‘You approved Person A, but you turned me down.’ That could lead to discrimination.”
Among those receiving payments, according to the city:
- Atlanta Police Department Chief George Turner, a 30-plus year employee, received payouts of roughly $79,000 for nearly 700 hours of vacation time by November 2013.
- Deputy Chief of Staff Katrina Taylor-Parks received about $29,000 for 371 hours of vacation and 248 hours of sick leave in February 2013.
- Deputy Chief Financial Officer Gwen Smith received nearly $28,000 for 335 hours of comp time. The date of the payment is unknown.
- Three city employees received payments of a combined $6,000 for unused vacation since 2012.
- Three other employees also received about $12,000 in combined advance pay in that time frame.
The amount of vacation days employee can carry over year-to-year vary by tenure, beginning with 25 carry-over days in the first five years of employment and topping out at 45 days — or 360 hours — for employees with more than 20 years employment.
But Turner was paid for nearly 700 vacation hours in 2013. Turner’s office referred comment to Reed’s administration. Mullinax did not say why Turner was granted vacation days beyond what city code allows.
Mullinax also did not respond to questions regarding whether Taylor-Parks’ pay for 31 sick days was in line with city code.
Taylor-Parks, who joined Atlanta City Hall in 1994 and earns $133,500, said she believes the payments were fair. At the time of the payments, she was earning about $99,000 annually.
“At the end of the day, I have earned every hour over 20 years,” she said.
Mullinax said Smith — whose annual salary is $172,000 — was allowed to accrue 335 hours of comp time because she worked two positions in the finance department at once: as treasurer and deputy CFO from August 2012 to February 2013.
Beard and Yancey approved converting the compensatory time to cash, Mullinax said.
But Moore says that is in conflict with city code, which states that employees who are exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act aren’t eligible for overtime, but can earn up to 160 hours of comp time. In certain circumstances, employees may carry them over to the next calendar year. But the code provides no guidelines for converting compensatory time to cash.
District 6 Councilman Alex Wan, chair of the finance committee, said there are instances in the private sector in which such payments can be made, but that companies typically have policies and procedures governing those decisions.
He plans to ask the administration for answers when the council returns from recess in two weeks. “There’s an equity issue,” he said. “Was this applied broadly and universally and evenly? If the answer is no, then that will be the focus of the policy conversation I want to have.”
Mullinax refuted suggestions the payouts were offered only to a select few.
“This is not [an option] to reward particular employees,” she said. “It’s designed to help people when they have exhausted their options.”
Atlanta labor attorney John Monroe, who specializes in private sector laws, said without clearly defining policies around the hardship pay, the practice rings of an unwritten perk: “And that seems pretty contrary to what you’d expect from an open government.”
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