'I'm suddenly feeling feverish': EMT gives his 2-week notice then learns he will be shorted PTO, uses all of his sick days in his final two weeks

Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor

Sep 21, 2023 8:00 PM EDT

According to the Feds, employees are only allowed to get sick 3 days out of the year. At least, PTO and sick leave is intentionally convoluted and in America, some people actually feel guilty taking sick days (even when they ARE sick) because they have that vacation to Bermuda later in the year that they're saving those days for. But doesn't that defeat the purpose of a sick day? We should just call it what it really is: Floater days where you're paid to not work.

But for some companies and some industries, things get even more complicated because maybe you're not even entitled to sick days. Especially for folks who guard their precious sick days all year with the hope of getting paid out when they quit… those days are vitally important bonus money that can be a nice cushion on a lean month. What would you do if you learned last minute that your job wasn't planning to pay you out of the sick days you saved up? Perhaps a little malicious compliance would come into play.

So for one EMT who learned that he wouldn't get paid for the days he never used, he decided to get a little payback in the spiciest, pettiest way. Scroll for the full story of an emergency responder who was suddenly feeling feverish in his final days on the job. For more work drama, check out this tale of a temp employee who was asked to pitch $25 for the boss's birthday lunch– yeah right, buddy.