You've never heard of somebody calling out sick when they aren't actually sick?

The connotation of the headline is absolutely that workers are faking sick, even if the content of the article doesn't say that.

Just the opposite. "Workers are getting sick in droves" would be analysis, and not appropriate. And if you read the article, the article wraps up with information that counters your claim that NPR is pushing an agenda about workers.

I think people are so accustomed to clickbait-y headlines, they see an agenda in the headlines of an organization that actually practices strong journalistic standards and plays it "safe" with its headlines, saying less than more.

Calling out sick implies using voice and not text to message their sickness, which is also analysis.

"Workers are using sick days, and businesses do not have enough workers not on sick days" is a plain jane version

Sure I have but neither the headline nor the article imply any such thing. I do not infer any such negative connotation from the title.

Is there another term for calling out sick that you believe doesn’t have such a connotation?

Aren't there usually a limited number of sick days?

My previous jobs have all given me a grand total of 2 sick days plus 2 personal days. Anything beyond that would have cut into vacation days.

>In order for workers to call out sick they must be sick

I'm going to assume you're not from the US, because if you are you've got to be pulling my leg.

The US has no mandated time off for workers, so many people will "call out sick" if they need time off for anything. This is especially true of lower wage workers.

Before starting to work in my career I literally never had vacation time. If something came up (good or bad) I'd have to "call out" (colloquially the "sick" is often dropped, which may indicate how normal this is). Usually this only works for a day or two at a time.

So sure, I'd call out if I were sick... but I'd be just as likely to call out for a friend's birthday, a hotly anticipated video game, or some other frivolous thing.

I am from the US, but whenever I have called out sick at hourly jobs I was required to bring in a doctors note. I haven't worked hourly in some time so perhaps things have changed.

Informal "sick outs" are fairly common labor actions in the US. Most companies don't require any proof of actual sickness for short absences.