CHICAGO – It seems correctional officers at the Chicago jail feel strongly about spending time with their moms.
The Cook County Sheriff's Department says more than 200 officers at the county jail called in sick or invoked the Family Medical Leave Act — the federal law that requires employers provide leave for some medical reasons — to explain their absence on Sunday, Mother's Day. The department says another 154 informed the jail they won't be coming to work for the shift that starts later in the day.
Jail officials speculated that the nice weather and the fact that it's Mother's Day might explain the light attendance. Last year on Mother's Day, dozens of correctional officers didn't come to work, either.
Sunday's low staffing levels prompted officials to place the jail on lockdown.
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