Teacher Fakes Terminal Illness To Avoid Class; Survey FInds How Often People Lie About Being Sick To Skip Work

A first grade teacher in Florida fakes a terminal illness to get time off from work.  The teacher lied for an entire year about her and her father having a terminal illness. Ashley Baker finally admitted her gross lies when holes were found in the teacher's story.

Ashley Barker fakes being terminally ill and finally admits the she lied about the whole thing to avoid work for a year. Not surprisingly, the school board is furious and saddened by the teacher's ugly attempts to get off work.

The teacher at Laurel Elementary School in Polk County, finally admitted lying to her bosses and telling them she and her father were dying of a terminal illness just so she could avoid going to work at the school.

Over the course of a year, she sent the school principal 120 letters regarding the illness that she and her father were supposedly suffering from. The school took her word and let the teacher have numerous days off and allowed her to leave early on some days.

The school board, who recently had their doubts, approached Ashley Baker about her illness. She cracked and admitted she hadn't been at the hospital or the doctor's office, but had been at home with nothing wrong with her.

Now that the school is seeking to terminate her employment, Barker has hired a lawyer and is fighting them. Her case is due to go to a formal hearing before a judge.

This is no the first time an employee has lied to their bosses about a fatal illness:

A study published in 2012 says nearly half the workers surveyed admitted to calling in sick when they weren't. Adecco Group North America, the temporary staffing company that commissioned the survey, didn't say how many of those employees faked a cough and used a raspy voice when they phoned their boss.

Some hooky-playing workers get creative. Slightly more than one-fourth of employees say they have gained vacation time by fudging on bereavement days. A similar number admit to doing the same by claiming to have jury duty.

Only 42 percent of the 522 full-time workers surveyed said they never lie to get extra vacation time.

Men are more than twice as likely as women to say three or more weeks of sick time in one year is reasonable, according to the study.