Sick time and calling out sick are misnomers. They should really be called "not fit to fly" time, and calling out "not fit to fly. We- pilots and companies alike, call it "sick", I guess for ease of use in saying "sick" vs "not fit to fly. That's somehow made it into the culture, where there's this self imposed burden among some to actually feel "sick" in order to use your "sick" time. Also on the company side, a need for you to prove you're "sick", when you call in "sick".
Meanwhile, anytime youre not feeling fit to fly via the IMSAFE checklist, you owe it to yourself, your passengers and even your airline to call out "sick".
I had some very stressful, worrisome stuff going on at home a few weeks ago. (All is fine now) I was absolutely in NO condition to focus on flying an airplane. I called in "sick" even though I wasn't "sick", I just wasnt fit to fly.
Being "sick" seems like the whole basis for the GFB, or look back stuff, and if you reframe "sick" as "not fit to fly", then the GFB, and look back lose some of their teeth....not that they ever really had any to begin with....I mean....you can literally **visit a virtual doc, say your finger hurt and you can't manipulate the controls properly. They can "agree" that you were too "sick" to fly and put in their note that they saw you related to musculoskeletal issues. **

**for illustrative purposes only. I've never had a GFB or lookback.