Inspector general uncovers family leave abuse at 911 center

Last year, aldermen were told that Chicago’s 911 emergency center was still struggling to get a handle on runaway overtime because 49 percent of call takers are on “some type of” absence tied to the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Inspector General Joe Ferguson thinks he knows why: a “pattern suggestive of potential abuse” of the federal law, known as FMLA, by employees of the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications.

The alleged abuse by dispatchers and call-takers at the 911 center is contained in the inspector general’s quarterly report, released Tuesday.

According to the report, “several employees followed patterns which raised the specter of abuse, including the frequent use of FMLA leave on Fridays and Saturdays, as well as around major holidays or sporting events,” Ferguson wrote.

“As a result of [the] findings and recommendations, OEMC established a more rigorous review process for FMLA leave requests and committed to continuing to review vacation scheduling. OEMC stated it will also task supervisors with additional duties in the monitoring and management of problematic absenteeism or tardiness.”

FMLA entitles eligible employees to take unpaid, job-protected leave amounting to 12 work weeks in a 12-month period for specified family and medical reasons.

Eligible reasons include: the birth of and care for the newborn child within one year of birth; adoption or foster care of a child within one year of placement; care of a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition; or the employee’s own serious health condition.

Employees can also qualify for circumstances stemming from the military service of a spouse, son, daughter, or parent. Covered employees may also qualify for 26 work weeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a member of the military who happens to be the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin.

Last week, two influential aldermen proposed a more generous family leave policy that would allow Chicago’s 3,182 non-union employees to get up to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave and up to four weeks of paid parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child.

Ald. Pat O’Connor (40th), chairman of the City Council’s Committee on Workforce Development and Ald. Margaret Laurino (39th), the Council’s president pro-tem, said it’s high time the city provide top managers benefits that have become standard in private industry.

“There are really no advocates for the benefits of those individuals like those folks that are unionized. So every once in a while, you have to look at their benefit package so you continue … to attract young professionals looking at the benefit packages of progressive companies that have much better packages than we do,” said O’Connor, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s City Council floor leader.

“It helps us compete. It helps us to be a more family-friendly employer. Those extra weeks are good for the child’s health. It’s good for the health of the mother and the father.”

For years, City Hall had no maternity policy for female employees. Instead, pregnant women had to store up unused sick days, vacation days and unpaid family leave, then rush back to work.

When Emanuel took office, one of the first things he did was order a review of employee leave policies with an eye toward offering paid maternity leave to the 10,767 women then on the city payroll.

The resolution O’Connor and Laurino introduced is more generous than the four weeks of maternity leave for regular deliveries and six weeks for cesarean sections offered by the mayor.

Asked last week about 911 center absenteeism, O’Connor said: “There’s a difference between FMLA and having a baby. It’s tough to fake having a baby.”