Cook County Jail on lockdown after 18 percent of shift does not show up for work

Here you go, YF: Absences from work of employed full-time wage and salary workers by occupation and industry

If I'm reading it correctly, the public sector averages 2 hours absent for every 35-hour block of work.

The highest absence rates (4-plus percent) were among federal government and health care support.

 

C'mon:

Cook County Sheriff Salaries
Job Title Cook County Sheriff Salary
Correctional Officer $58,895
Deputy Sheriff $57,177

cook county jail average salary - Google Search

 

This is probably what you're thinking of:

Did hundreds of Cook County Sheriff’s jail guards come down with the Pacquiao-Mayweather flu over the weekend?

That’s what sheriff’s officials suspect after 637 correctional officers called in sick for shifts between 7 a.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday — more than double the total on other recent weekends.

Cara Smith, executive director of the jail, said she suspects many officers took time off to watch Saturday night’s live broadcast of the “Fight of the Century” in Las Vegas, in which boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. outlasted Manny Pacquiao.

“There was a historic sporting event taking place at the same time,” Smith said. “It certainly raises that question.”

Sick calls soar for Cook County jail guards on big boxing weekend

 

do they have subs for the prison guards, like schools do for teachers?

Actually, it's basically the same job [/teenagerthoughts]

 

Hurray for unions!

 

For a job that doesn't require a degree, and comes with great benefits, it's a good job:

Salary for the position of correctional officers is $50,950 to $74,770.

Applications Being Taken for Cook County Corrections Officer | Patch

 

They should fire everybody who called in sick and hire from the pool of great applicants who want their $50K. Problem solved!

 

Apart from the whole working with scumbags aspect of it.

 

Well, yeah. But for the folks who hold the job, it's better than their alternatives.

Towns lobby to have jails built in them because they provide good paying jobs for low skill workers.

 

They are also extremely stressful jobs. I'm not naïve enough to think they don't take advantage of their sick time but I would think that the absentee rate would naturally be higher than in other professions.

 

I wouldn't do that job for $100,000 a year, and I really need the money right now.

 

From 2011:

Preckwinkle said 1 in 5 of Dart's 6,800 employees is off work on any given day for personal medical reasons or to care for a family member under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. At the jail, it's 1 in 4, she said.

While those employees are off, the county continues to pay their pension and health insurance costs, and more employees are needed on the payroll to ensure full staffing, Preckwinkle said. Too many sheriff's employees are on long-term disability or getting workers' compensation payments, she added.

Dart's spokesman said the sheriff already has worked for the past year or so to address the issue of family and medical leave.

"It's absolutely a problem," Patterson said, adding that Dart brought it to Preckwinkle's attention. "It's absolutely something we have been trying to fix."

Preckwinkle criticizes Dart on spending

So, in addition to regular old sick days, you've got a quarter of the jail employees out on long term leave.