Charlie Baker 2015

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker addresses reportersl at the Statehouse in Boston, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015.

(AP file photo)

BOSTON - Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday will introduce a bill to cap the amount of sick time that state government employees can accrue.

The goal is to limit large payouts when a state employee retires.

"Sick leave is a benefit designed to offer employees a way to deal with health and family issues, not a retirement bonus," Baker, a Republican, said in a statement. "Bringing the Commonwealth's sick leave accrual policy in line with other private and public sector employers just makes sense and is the fiscally responsible thing to do."

The legislation, which will still have to be passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature, would limit Executive Branch employees to accruing 1,000 hours of sick leave - the equivalent of six months of work.

According to the state, there are approximately 5,800 Executive Branch workers who have already accrued more than that, and they would be allowed to keep the amount they have already earned but not accrue any more time.

The bill would save the state approximately $3.5 million annually, based on data from the last three fiscal years.

The issue of earned sick time for public employees has gained attention recently in the media, in response to the case of Bridgewater State University president Dana Mohler-Faria.

The Republican/MassLive.com reported in February that Mohler-Faria retired in 2015 and received $453,300 in pay, which included $257,000 from unused sick and vacation time that he accrued over 38 years of working in Massachusetts' public higher education system. Several other media outlets dug into Mohler-Faria's retirement package the following month. A story by WCVB-5 in March identified more than 100 retiring state workers who received checks of at least $50,000 for unused sick time.

"This legislation ensures the use of sick time remains consistent with its intended purpose," Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said in a statement. "Benefits for Executive Department employees will remain competitive while we implement an accrual policy that is fair to Massachusetts taxpayers."

Under current law, public employees can accrue up to 15 sick days a year. When they retire, they can cash out 20 percent of the unused sick time.

In fiscal year 2015, 378 retiring employees had more than 1,000 hours of unused sick time, representing a third of retiring employees but 80 percent of cash payouts.

The bill has the support of Republican leaders in the House and Senate. But it remains to be seen whether the Democrats who control both bodies will go along with it.

House Minority Leader Bradley Jones, R-North Reading, said the recent media reports about sick leave payouts in higher education "clearly demonstrate the need to crack down on these types of abuses."

This is a developing news story. Watch MassLive.com for further coverage.