EDITORIAL: Federal workers get half-day off on Christmas Eve; taxpayers trudge on

Back before Thanksgiving, government employees petitioned President Barack Obama to declare the day after Thanksgiving a federal holiday. He didn't, so they tried again, asking the president to close federal offices on Christmas Eve. This time, he compromised, giving them a half-day off with pay.

The federal employees who created and signed the November petition complained of "all-time low" morale caused by "years of little to no cost-of-living increases in their pay," and said that "a paid day off to spend with their families would go a long way towards making employees feel appreciated." The December petition cited frustration with "pay freezes and constant threats of government shutdowns" and said that "being with our relatives is so important during this time and would mean everything."

These grievances, as well as the actions of President Obama (and President George W. Bush before him) in response, highlight the president's and Washington's growing disconnect from the rest of the country.

In addition to the paid half-day off this year, President Obama gave federal employees a full day off on the day after Christmas last year, a full day off on Christmas Eve in 2012 and a half-day off on Christmas Eve in 2009. President Bush gave federal workers the day off on Christmas Eve (twice) and December 26 (twice) during his presidency.

While it's generous to give federal employees paid time off around the holidays, it's also easy to be so generous when you're spending taxpayer's money. The employees' complaints, too, seem somewhat hypocritical considering the generous amount of paid time off they already receive.

Federal employees in their first three years of service receive a 13 vacation days, 13 sick days and 10 paid federal holidays each year. From years four through 15, federal employees get 20 vacation days, and after year 15, they receive 26 days, with the sick days and federal holidays remaining at 13 and 10, respectively. Federal workers also get a slew of holidays off — such as Columbus Day, the birthdays of George Washington and Martin Luther King Jr., etc. — that most of us in the private sector don't.

How does government employees' paid leave compare with the amount of paid time off that you receive at your job each year? How about those extra holidays? Did you get those? How much of a cost-of-living increase did you receive this year?

If federal workers want to take a half-day off, or a full day for that matter, they have ample paid time off to use. It's a classic case of taxpayers providing a gift to already overcompensated, overprotected federal workers — a gift that taxpayers themselves can't expect to receive.