There are apparently lots of opportunities to rest, relax and recuperate if you work for the city of Cincinnati, The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

A generous vacation and sick leave policy in City Hall allowed for one in three employees to be off the equivalent of six working weeks last year, according to an analysis by the news organization.

Of the city’s 5,800 full-time positions, 1,970 workers took off more than the equivalent of six workweeks last year in vacation, sick leave and other time off, the Enquirer reports. And 147 people took off more than the equivalent of 12.5 weeks, according to the analysis.

The situation has emerged because of a policy that allows time off in city contracts to be carried over from year to year, according to the Enquirer. It is costing the city “millions,” the news organization reports.

The situation is affected by the habit of some workers to occasionally abuse sick leave and treat it as vacation time, the Enquirer reports.

“Regular attendance is expected of all employees, yet some are not meeting this expectation,” former city human resources director Hilary Bohanon wrote in a memo last year, according to the news organization.

This sort of situation would never fly in the private sector, said Steve Erie, an expert on public employment and a political science professor at the University of California-San Diego.

“You’d either be out of a job or your company would be out of business,” Erie told the Enquirer.