Ai??Mark Rinehart is a hard-working math teacher in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Recently, his wife Hannah grew very ill with cancer and needed to have a quadruple amputation.
She has been hospitalized since July 2nd, and Mark wants to be at her side. He lacked the paid sick days needed to stay with her long, so his colleagues decided to step up and donate their unused sick days so he could be with Hannah.
But the school district has not allowed Mark to take the donated days.Ai??”We just can’t do it for one person. We have requests frequently to do the type of thing that they have requested. But we have 22,000 employees,” Gwinnett County Schools Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks told a local TV station.
“Government employees, the state of Georgia employees, the university system employees and several other districts and states have this policy,” said Donna Aker of the Gwinnett County Association of Educators of donated sick days.
Watch CBS Atlanta’s report about the Rineharts’ plight:
The U.S. is not one ofAi??144 countriesAi??that guarantee sick days to workers, and it isn’t one of the scores that has generous family leave policy. In many other developed countries, Mark Rinehart would never have to choose between his job and being at his sick wife’s bedside.
Is there anyone you know who has ever been faced with a similar choice? Do you know anyone overseas who hasn’t had to thanks to more progressive leave policies?
I think this issue needs to be taken up with Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education. The treatment of teacher Mark Rinehart is cruel and inhumane. I think the ACLU would be interested in this case. My heart goes out to Mr. and Mrs. Rinehart, as do prayers for her well-being.
The Superintendent is cruel and inhumane!!! Wonder what he would do if he were in the same situation? How effective will this teacher be in the classroom? Besides if the other employees donate their own time, what is the problem? This Superintendent is on a power trip and just afraid to show some compassion. What message does this send to the students and other employees? Recently my wife was reprimanded for being hospitalzed and not having the sick time to cover it. She since quit and retired however;the losers were the people she helped. In fact some of her clients demanded she be rehired. Of course, that won’t happen but, it made her feel good. Keep praying for this man.
What kind of fool is this wilbanks . If he is elected don’t forget and get rid of him . What kind of people make up your district? Speak up! Signed Disgusted
Wilbanks is disgusting. He recently cash out his sick time to the tune of around $18K. I guess it is better to save it up and make the county pay you for it rather than donate. What a joke!