A new paid leave program for City of Denver workers is causing “unintended consequences” at the city’s 911 call answering center, with overall leave usage among 911 call takers shooting up 334% in 2024, the first year of the Denver Care Bank program. That’s according to Andrew Dameron, the director of the 911 center.
“When you provide benefits to employees that allows them to take more time off, then there are costs on the other end,” said Dameron.
He said he believed there was a correlation between the spike in employees taking leave time and the new Care Bank program taking effect.
CBS News Colorado found that citywide, in 2024, city employees took roughly 33% more paid long-term leave hours than in 2023, when the Care Bank leave program was not in place…