When the state of California paid prison supervising dentist George Soohoo $1.2 million last year, it wasn’t for a job well done. It was for vacation never taken.
Soohoo joined the rare club of state employee millionaires by cashing out thousands of hours of unused time off when he retired, setting a new record for the payouts. He topped a list of nearly 1,000 workers who left state service last year with $100,0000 or more in banked leave benefits, a Los Angeles Times analysis of state payroll records found. In all, California paid departing workers $413 million last year for unused time off.
That’s nothing compared with the massive financial liability the state faces for the banked time off still on the books, alarming government watchdog groups…