Hacker News Reader

Comment by ragingrobot | Hacker News Reader

Well, that's up the employer who will come up with that definition.

I just used it as an example because it was in the article. What did he tell his employer? My job requires one to state the illness, although I understand that's not common, so this may be irrelevant.

If the guy does it every few months, no harm, no foul.

If he's taking every other weekend off and posting pics on his facebook page with a big smile, then maybe his employer may not be so happy.

I think the takeaway would be don't give your employer proof that could be interpreted as you were not straightforward.

View on HN

Having to tell your employer what your sickness is in order to get sick leave approved (or not) is ridiculous at the outset. This is the exact kind of thing people are lobbying against. My employer should not have that much reach into my work/life balance. You give me PTO with minor stipulations and leave it at that.

My desire to maliciously comply with your company's policy would have me stating things like, "I have this red, oozing puss on my ass cheeks and would like a day off," or, "My balls are really itchy and red and it's spread to my fingers."

It's not up to the employer.

There are states where paid sick leave is mandated, and the state law explicitly lets workers take sick leave for _ANY_ reason related to health.

Feeling too tired to work? Fine to take a day off.

Stressed out because you had to take your pet to the vet? Take a day off.

> My job requires one to state the illness

Aside from being a huge red flag, what's stopping you from just putting in "mental health" and not being very specific? Does anyone even care/check? Surely HR can't be that petty?

> Aside from being a huge red flag, what's stopping you from just putting in "mental health" and not being very specific? Does anyone even care/check? Surely HR can't be that petty?

There's still a stigma attached to mental health problems. Many, perhaps most, people can't seem to differentiate between "I'm feeling really depressed" and "I'm psychotic and want to kill a bunch of people". It's very sad that this is the case, but that's how it is.

1 in 6 Americans takes antidepressants, so chances are you know quite a few people who are taking them. However, I'll bet that the only people who've ever told you they're taking them are really close friends and family.

Why? Because this stigma exists.

(note that I'm not interested in debating whether antidepressants work, or whether taking them is a good idea... that's not the issue here)

> It's not up to the employer. > There are states where paid sick leave is mandated, and the state law explicitly lets workers take sick leave for _ANY_ reason related to health.

My comment wasn't on defining what constitutes as "sick," but the parent asked what constitutes "abuse." As there is no law which defines it, yes, it unfortunately is the employer that will determine what "abuse" means.

> Aside from being a huge red flag, what's stopping you from just putting in "mental health" and not being very specific?

Requiring doctor's certification that one was ill in my (unionized) workplace. If they don't like the explanation, paid sick leave law or not, pay is refused. Challenged in court and upheld.

I refuse to think this is the only employer in the US that does it. Cases like these however have situations that lead to them. I surely don't think it's right, but do see where if someone's not showing up to work because he's "sick" and then posting photos of having a good time, and doing it often, it doesn't look good. In fact it's stuff like that which lead to such policies where I work.

A search got me this, so obviously it is done elsewhere:

https://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/10847/checking-up-on... https://www.quora.com/Can-your-employer-check-if-you-re-real...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com