City Colleges of Chicago Board of Trustees Ends Sick Day Payouts for New Employees

CHICAGO, Nov. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The City Colleges of Chicago Board of Trustees has voted to adopt changes to the City Colleges of Chicago sick day policy and healthcare benefits for non-bargained for employees, the first steps in a comprehensive review of benefits ordered by Chancellor Cheryl L. Hyman last fall.

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"I want to commend Chancellor Hyman for leading the effort to ensure that City Colleges of Chicago's benefits represent a prudent use of taxpayer resources, and at the same time, we remain competitive and able to attract top talent to further our students' success," said Chairman Martin Cabrera Jr.

Under the new sick day policy, employees will not be able to "cash out" sick days at the end of employment and the number of days allowed to accumulate will be capped at 200.  The policy applies to all administrators and non-bargained for employees hired on or after January 1, 2012.

The Board of Trustees also voted to make changes to the HMO and PPO plans for all non-bargained-for employees designed to rein in overall healthcare expenses.  Changes to the HMO/PPO plans include an increase in co-pays and deductibles to bring them more in line with the marketplace while holding the line on premiums.  Non-bargained-for employees, which make up 20 percent of CCC employees, have not had salary raises since July 2008.

The costs of all preventative health services under the PPO/HMO plans will be covered, including: general health screenings, cancer screenings, health counseling and immunizations.  

The medical plan changes are expected to save taxpayers $425,000 annually for the upcoming year.

"We believe these changes encourage employees to take ownership of their health care, including proactively addressing health concerns and making healthy lifestyle choices," said Chancellor Cheryl L. Hyman.  "The Board's decision is a good first step in the reform of City Colleges of Chicago's benefit policies and we expect our review to yield more action in this area in the months ahead."

The City Colleges of Chicago (CCC), District 508, is the largest community college system in Illinois and one of the largest in the nation, with 5,800 faculty and staff serving 120,000 students at seven campuses and thirteen satellite sites city-wide.  The City Colleges of Chicago is in the midst of a Reinvention, a collaborative effort to review and revise CCC programs and practices to ensure students leave CCC college-ready, career-ready and prepared to pursue their life's goals.

CCC includes seven colleges: Richard J. Daley College, Kennedy-King College, Malcolm X College, Olive-Harvey College, Harry S Truman College, Harold Washington College and Wilbur Wright College.  The system also oversees: The Washburne Trade School, the French Pastry School, two restaurants, five Child Development Centers, the Center for Distance Learning, the Workforce Institute, the public broadcast station WYCC-TV Channel 20 and radio station WKKC, 89.3 FM.  For more information about City Colleges of Chicago, dial: (773) COLLEGE, or visit www.reinventingccc.org.  

SOURCE City Colleges of Chicago