Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
DOE Employees Used Sick Days For Paid Vacations
By
Jaya Saxena
Published Aug 23, 2010
Modified Aug 23, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jaya Saxena
Published Aug 23, 2010
Modified Aug 23, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
At least 13 DOE employees, mainly teachers and school cooks, have either lost their jobs or paid heavy fines for using their sick days to take paid vacations. According to the Post, one employee even lied about her mother dying so she could take three days off (one of her sick day activities: going bowling). She also accepted a $150 gift from concerned coworkers before taking her little break. But others did not break the rules so brazenly, and believe they shouldn't have been punished.
Teachers Robert and Cinty Nappo each used five sick days to take their honeymoon in Aruba in 2008, and were each fined $7,500 upon their return. Robert Nappo told the Daily News, "It's unfair that gutless people who may have it in for you stoop so low to do something this." Another teacher said her vacation was actually sick leave. Mary Marconi worked at PS 21 for 13 years, and called in sick after she suffered from a sprained back. She had also been going through a separation with her husband, and both her doctor and her brother recommended she go on vacation to relax. She resigned after coming home from a week long Caribbean cruse in 2009, and is now collecting unemployment. She said, "I loved my job and everything. But they tortured me. I was almost on the verge of...a nervous breakdown."
DOE employees are entitled to 10 sick days per year, three of which can be converted to personal days with departmental permission. DOE spokeswoman Ann Forte said, "Sick days are for when a person is sick, period. If teachers or staff are found to be abusing the policy to take a vacation, we will take action." So when you take sick days to go to your mom's high profile sentencing, you're probably going to be busted.
Tagged
DOE
paid vacation
sick days
teachers
vacation
Jaya Saxena
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Queens man charged with hate crime at Jewish-owned bagel shop displaying Israeli flags
Prosecutors say the 22-year-old damaged property outside the Fresh Meadows shop twice in May.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 19, 2026 at 6:07 p.m. ET
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."
By
Stephen Nessen
News
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."
By
Stephen Nessen
High-ranking NYC officials to testify in ex-buildings boss Eric Ulrich's corruption trial
By
David Brand
Mamdani launches new team to help NYers keep SNAP, Medicaid benefits
By
Caroline Lewis
Riders at 53rd St. station where man was fatally shot say they worry about gun violence
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .