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I ` 1989 BOOK 76 [AU 9 year. to the next, but is not to exceed the 20 day maximum. Any amounts over the 20 day limit are automatically dropped. The policy stipulates that an employee will not be paid for earned vacation leave, in lieu of taking such leave, except upon termination. In my opinion, the current policy is realistic and equitable to both the employee and the County. I believe based on the accrual rates, sufficient time is given to liquidate the leave prior to losing any. To be effective the policy must be consistently and uniformly applied. Additionally, the employee must be given the opportunity to take the time off, otherwise I believe the County may be liable from a practical and perhaps legal standpoint if the leave is dropped. An employee must also recognize that in some instances portions of the leave may not always totally coincide with a time the employee considers convenient. Attached is a list of employees reflecting time lost for the period October, 1987 to December, 1988 as well as their balance as of December 31, 1988. You will note that some employees lost in excess of 100 hours and are at the maximum now. The difference in time lost requested by Joe Baird and that reflected on the list is the time element covered. In a check of several of those listed, it appears they had the opportunity but chose not to take the time. My impression is that is the case with the vast majority of those listed. To be as accurate as possible, an extremely time consuming survey of each employee and their supervisor would be required. In recent years, however, it also appears that there may have been some inconsistency in application of the policy, some degree of confusion about the policy, and in some instances the belief the time would not be lost. Since there has been some "confusion" and I do not believe a time consuming survey would be totally productive, it is my recommendation that on a one time basis an opportunity be extended to liquidate the time lost per the attached formula. I do not believe compensation for that time is justified. If the Commission concurs with the preceding, all employees will be informed of the current policy. Additionally, they will periodically be reminded to take the time or it will be lost. It will be uniformly applied to all. An employee can also keep track of their balance since it appears on their pay check stub. With respect to Joe Baird, I believe that his situation is an extreme compared to the others. There appears to be no question that he was given extensive additional responsibilities and it would have been difficult to take the time if the job was to be done properly. There were also some instances where time off was requested and he was denied. However, I cannot document that some time could not have been taken. As a result, although his case may be extreme, I cannot justify a recommendation contrary to that recommended for all employees. 28