Bill would 'cash out' federal sick leave

WASHINGTON, March 11 (UPI) -- A proposed law would give U.S. federal employees the ability to cash out some unused sick leave when they retire.

U.S. Rep. James Moran, D-Va., wants to change the current "use-it-or-lose-it" rules, which he says encourage federal workers to call in sick as much as possible as they near retirement age.

Moran pointed to a recent government study that estimated the cost of the current regulations to the taxpayers at about $68 million per year, The Washington Post said Tuesday.

The proposal would specifically cover the Federal Employees Retirement System, which applies to about three-quarters of the federal workforce. The Post said FERS employees eligible to retire used nearly 35 percent more sick leave that employees covered under the previous system.

A spokesman for Moran, whose district includes a high number of Washington federal workers, said the plan would be studied by the Congressional Budget Office and could be scaled back if deemed too expensive.