44 Years, No Sick Days: Postal Service Worker Deborah Ford Retires Taking No Sickdays

A U.S. Postal Service worker put in 44 years and did not take one sick day. The Detroit Free Press reported that Deborah Ford who retired on Wednesday, was a stellar worker who never even took one sick day in her decades of work.

When Ford had to go to the doctor, she used vacation time. She said to The Detroit Free Press that when she wasn't feel well she would "shake it off."

Ford, 64, lives in Detroit with her 86-year-old father. Chuck Howe who is the Postal Service district manager said that Ford was "Amazing" and "remarkable" to The Detroit Free Press. Howe oversees the Detroit District which has more than 13000 employees.

Howe handed Ford a proclamation that shows her never missing a work day. "enabling you to retire with a sick-leave balance of 4,508 hours," he said at her send-off luncheon.

For said at the luncheon, It's been my honor to serve the postal system all these years. You don't miss the brick and mortar, but you certainly miss the people."

She added about her time at The Postal Service to The Detroit Free Press, "You know what we say -- rain, sleet or snow" can't stop the U.S. mail; "and that's what I live by. I'm coming in."

Iscience.com reported that Ford attributes her good health to luck. She said she didn't know how she made it through that many years without taking a sick day and plans to rest during her retirement years.

"I have no secrets. If I did, I'd write a book," Ford said to The Detroit Free Press."But a positive attitude helps."

According to Americanprogress.org The U.S. is the only developed country that does not guarantee paid sick leave. "This hurts both our economy and U.S. workers. As wage growth has stagnated, benefits such as paid sick days have become all the more important to ensuring workers can stay out of poverty and in the middle class," it states.

The also reported that 38 percent of private-sector workers don't even get one paid sick day.

"This percentage is lower for full-time private-sector workers (25 percent), but it is significantly higher for part-time workers, with 73 percent lacking access. Full-time workers are more than three times as likely to have access to any form of paid leave than part-time workers," states Americanprogress.org.