A Spanish civil servant's six-year sick leave went unnoticed until the man became eligible for an award for long service, exposing his lengthy absence.
Joaquin Garcia, 69, who was employed as a building supervisor at a wastewater treatment plant, has been fined $30,000, amounting to a year’s
salary after taxes, the BBC reported.
Garcia has denied the sick-leave allegations. Local authorities and officials at the water company each thought the other was in charge of Garcia, according to the BBC. Those close to him said he was moved to the job because of political differences and found no work to be done there. They said he went to the office, but not full time, and spent his time reading philosophy. He never report the lack of work issue because he was afraid it would be difficult to find another job.
The deputy mayor of Cadiz became aware of the absence when Garcia became eligible for a
service award, EuroWeekly reported. Colleagues said he did come into the office during his alleged absence but not for full days.
Garcia reportedly got the job at the Aguas de Cádiz public utilities provider in
1990, The Independent noted, citing Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
The manager of Aguas de Cádiz, who had an office near Garcia, claimed that he hadn’t seen Garcia in years and that Garcia couldn’t answer what he had been doing during that time, The Independent said.
Twitter expressed surprise and amusement at the bizarre story.
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