LAS VEGAS (AP) — Financial reports show that taxpayers in Nevada's two largest counties owe nearly $610 million to public employees who haven't used their paid sick and vacation time.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports governments in Clark and Washoe counties have paid $215 million to departing employees for their time off entitlements over the past five years.
Many public employees in the state can build up their unused sick and vacation hours and cash them out when they retire. Government departments have sometimes delayed hiring replacement employees to recoup the costs because some do not budget for the payments.
The newspaper surveyed 22 local government employers in the state, finding 344 departing workers received payments of $100,000 or more for unused sick and vacation time from 2013 through 2017.