'We just come in and cough all over each other': Fox News hosts mock sick days as 'bogus' wastes of time

04 February 2023

Fox News panelists on Friday's edition of The Five suggested that workers who call in sick are "lazy" and then trivialized medical leave as generally unnecessary.

American workers have access to fewer paid sick days than their counterparts compared to other industrialized countries.

"A total of more than 30 days of vacation time allotted to workers in France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom stands in stark contrast to the 10 public holidays in the U.S., which are not guaranteed to come with pay," CNBC noted in 2018. And while many employees admit to "faking" illnesses, research shows that upper management does so much more often.

Fox's hosts, however, implied that the concept is deeply flawed.

"If you're feeling sick, don't do this. Two-in-five employees will sniffle and cough around the office just to prove to their coworkers that they're actually under the weather instead of just taking a sick day. Judge, have you done that recently?" Harold Ford Jr. asked Jeanine Pirro.

"No but I'll tell you why they do it. Does that mean I did it? They do it to prove to people they really are sick. You don't want people to think you're just lazy and want to stay home. And eat candy. Dark chocolate," Pirro replied.

"You've been hacking up a lung this entire show," joked Jesse Watters.

"Very specific," Martha McCallum chimed in.

"You didn't have to come in today. We could have had [Jessica] Tarlov or Geraldo [Rivera]. We get it," Watters added.

"I dunno, ya know, I'm not big on sick days. I don't think that you necessarily should have like, the six sick days every year. Then people say, 'Oh, I'm taking a sick day tomorrow!' which I think is really bogus," MacCallum continued. "I don't know. So we just come in and cough all over each other and push through. I mean, that's the way we work."

Watch below via Media Matters for America or at this link.

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