CA Prison Dentist Gets $1.2M Payout From State For Unused Time Off: Report

SACRAMENTO, CA — A prison dentist working for the state of California received a $1.2 million payout last year for thousands of hours of time off not taken, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The man, George Soohoo, is one of almost 1,000 state workers who left their jobs in 2024 with at least $100,000 in unused leave benefits, the Times reported, adding California’s unfunded liability for vacation and leave owed to current employees was $5.6 billion in 2023 — up nearly 45 percent from 2019.

State employees receive as much as six weeks of vacation per year as well as 12 holidays and professional development, according to the Times, which noted managers are supposed to work with employees who are over a 640-hour vacation cap to help them use the time off, but those plans aren’t always followed.

Outgoing employees receive payment for time off not taken as well as time they would have earned had they taken the days off, according to the Times, adding the payout is based on the worker’s final salary.

Public unions — among Gov. Gavin Newsom’s top donors — would be involved in negotiating any change to the system, according to the Times.

“That’s theoretically possible,” Mike Genest, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget director, told the Times. “It’s not politically possible.”

Read more from the Times.