Catch-22

Labor leaders defend the payments. They say accrued leave is time employees have earned and deserve to be paid for.

Often, labor supporters say, employees may have wanted to take a vacation but couldn't because of workload or a scheduling conflict.

This was particularly true in recent years when workers were required to take unpaid time off before taking leave time as part of the county's cost-saving furlough program.

"How can you criticize somebody for not taking vacation when you're not allowed to take vacation?" said James Geluso, spokesman for the county chapter of Service Employees International Union.

Because time off has been harder to schedule, many employees have accumulated the maximum 600 hours of leave and are forfeiting earning additional time, county officials said.

Personnel officials could not say last week how many employees are in this situation.

County Administrative Officer John Navarrette said he continues to encourage employees to draw down their leave time, but he acknowledges it's been difficult because of furloughs and the reduced work force.

The 600-hour cap, he said, is a "good start."

"We're down to what I think is pretty comparable with what other jurisdictions are doing," he said.

The state of California, in comparison, prevents employees from having more than 640 vacation hours on the books.

Supervisor Henry Perea agreed that county efforts have begun to address the cash-out liability, but he said the expense remains high and more can be done to reduce it.

"It's a continuing concern because it's a cost of doing business that affects how much we have for services to the public," Perea said. "Moving forward, I see us moving toward further reductions in the amount an employee can cash out."