Bogus Sick Days on the Rise

A CareerBuilder news release about its latest absenteeism poll said most employers believe their workers when they say they call in sick, but 29% reported they have checked up on an employee claiming to be ill and 16% said they have fired a worker for missing work without a proven excuse.

Of the employers who checked up, 70% said they required the employee to show them a doctor’s note. While half called the employee at home, 18% had another worker call the employee and 15% drove by the employee’s house or apartment.

Twenty-nine percent of workers admitted they called in sick to work when they were well.

The survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,457 U.S. hiring managers and 3,125 U.S. workers employed full-time; not self-employed; non-government, ages 18 and over.