Why 14 Million Americans Likely Will Call in Sick Monday

“Super Sick Monday” is not a national holiday, but it does come around annually and this year will see an estimated 14 million Americans call in sick to work.

The reason for this is because “Super Sick Monday” is the day after the Super Bowl, a day in which people notoriously tend to overdo it on alcohol and food.

There is a bit of a catch here, however, as USA Today reports that Career Builder did a survey and found that about 33% of employers investigate whether or not employees who call out on “Super Sick Monday” are really sick.

Some have specifically asked for a doctor’s note, while others have admitted it calling the employee at home or even driving past their house.

Another 22% of employers have said that they have fired an employee for calling out of work and providing a fake excuse.

Career Builder listed some of the worst real excuses that people provided to employers and they range from claiming to be bit by a duck, to just outright saying they have better things to do.

One woman called out because “her roots were showing and she had to keep her hair appointment because she looked like a mess.”

Another claimed she could not make it in because she “was experiencing traumatic stress from a large spider found in her home” and “had to stay home to deal with the spider.”

Maybe the most hilarious excuse, though, come from the man who told his boss that he was not able to be at work due to “bowling the gamer of his life.”

As the world now knows, The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New England Patriots in the 2018 Super Bowl to become the new NFL champions.

Going into the game, however, the odds were on the Patriots to take home the Vince Lombardi trophy.

Forbes reported that New England was 4.5-point chalk and that the over/under is 48.5 points, which essentially translated to Bill Belichick and his Patriots being the favorite to win.

A separate report in the gambling dynamics for the big game estimated that Americans would wager $4.76 billion on the big game.

Interestingly, sports betting is currently only legal in the state of Nevada and only about 3% of that $4.76 billion would actually be wagered in the state. Rather, many of the bets would have been made with local bookmakers and offshore books, according to ESPN.

The Supreme Court, however, is preparing to release a ruling regarding sports betting that could potentially legalize it outside of Nevada.

Geoff Freeman, the president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, released a statement on the Super Bowl betting estimate, saying, “Thanks to the failed federal ban on sports betting, Americans are sending billions of their hard-earned dollars to corner bookies, shady offshore operators and other criminal enterprises.”

Freeman then added that “the big question” that the American Gaming Association is asking now is, “Is 2018 finally the year when governments, sporting bodies and the gaming industry work together to put the illegal sports betting market out of business?”

Last year, gamblers bet a record $138.4 million on the Super Bowl face-off between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons.