Over 370 Cook County correctional officers called off work Oct. 16. The likeliest reason behind the absences is the Chicago Cubs, who played a postseason game that night. Although the Cubs playoff run is historic, the pattern of spikes in mass call-offs is far more common. In June, Game 7 of the NBA finals caused 317 correctional officers to call off, resulting in a mandatory inmate lockdown. On Mother’s Day, 464 correctional officers called off. A spokesperson for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said these unusually large amounts of call-offs are taking place during major sporting or weather events and are becoming a significant problem.
I don’t usually call in sick but it would really suck to actually be sick and have 370 + of your co-workers call in with the postseason play-off flu the same day. – Marconi
