Star editorial gently chides O’Dell

by David Safier

Today's Star editorial takes apart O'Dell's scandal-of-the-century treatment of Tucson's sick and vacation leave policy that ran on Sunday's front page, though it's a gentle taking apart. Without saying it in so many words, the editorial makes O'Dell's story look ridiculous. Then it goes on to suggest some measured changes in the sick/vacation leave policy which are a far cry from O'Dell's scandal mongering.

Sunday, I showed how skewed O'Dell's story was. It focused on payouts for accrued sick and vacation leave when employees quit or retire, making it look like a horrific misuse of city revenue, juggling the facts to conform to the latest government-workers-are-overpaid conservative meme. Every one of my criticisms holds up in the editorial analysis.

According to the editorial, the policy of letting employees cash out a percentage of their sick leave when they quit or retire isn't as shocking as O'Dell wants us to believe.

That's a smart practice, within limits.

A statement like that would have been unthinkable in O'Dell's hit piece.

Why is it a smart practice?

Accrual is a carrot for employees who are blessed with good health. They build up a bank of hours to use if they ever fall critically ill. If their health holds, they walk out the door at the end of employment with extra money.

The argument against paying out any cash is that accrual itself is a valuable benefit, an insurance policy, if you will, against a health calamity.

The benefit doesn't all belong to the employee, though, and that's why we believe some level of payout makes sense. Employers are better off when workers show up as scheduled day after day, year after year.

Wise managers reward employees for that sort of loyalty. These are the people who keep the workplace humming while others are out – whether with something as serious as leukemia or as questionable as not feeling like working today.

Sounds reasonable, doesn't it? Makes O'Dell's thesis look ridiculous, doesn't it?

The editorial suggests some changes. The amount of sick leave payout should be capped, and there should be no payout for unused vacation days. Those are reasonable modifications, which others could reasonably refute. They're part of a logical exchange of ideas, a far cry from O'Dell's "If it bleeds [money], it leads," "I hate city government" approach to every story about Tucson's government.

NOTE: To paraphrase a statement often made referring to overweight people: Inside Rob O'Dell is a good journalist struggling to get out. For all his exaggerations, O'Dell usually includes factual data somewhere in his articles that refute his claims, almost like he can't stop himself from doing his job as a reporter. He appears to be a smart guy and a thorough investigator. He's capable of quality journalism if only he'd drop the bias.