Several months ago, my colleague wrote a post about CareerBuilder.com's annual list of the most unusual excuses for calling in sick.  And today, there should be a new number one.

Scott Bennett of Pennsylvania, published a fake obituary for his living mother to get some additional time off work.  Apparently, Bennett did not want to get fired from his job for taking the time off work so he wrote an obituary for his living mother, which was later published.

After publication, several relatives called the paper to say that Bennett's mother was alive and well.  Bennett's mother also visited the paper confirming her status among the living.  The editor accepted the obituary after being unable to confirm the funeral arrangements at press time. Bennett has now been fired and charged with disorderly conduct.

While Bennett certainly deserves an A+ for originality, he gets an F for honesty and professionalism.  Given that most employment is at-will, meaning an employee can be fired for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all, so long as there is no unlawful motive for the termination, Bennett learned an important lesson that while creativity may be appreciated when it comes to your work product, it is not appreciated when it comes to your work excuse absences.