PTO != LOA
PTO is like if you got a cold and needed a day or two, LOA is like if a major fucking event/sickness took over and could potentially ruin your life and you have to be out of work for weeks/months/years. With LOA you still get paid, though you may get slightly less than your normal paycheck. Still a paycheck though, and after saving gas from driving in, or saving money from the train/bus/subway, or savings costs of electricity from powering on your PC/heater/AC or whatever else in order to work from home, it almost balances out.
Also, in at least where I’m from, retaliation is illegal and businesses get sued out the ass for it.
Source: Work in the US, have used LOA and PTO, and have seen businesses go down for violating these laws.
No, if you have a cold that should be sick leave, what stupid system do you have in the US?
Yeah, but sick leave should not be limited, and it should not be requested from an employer, the employer should be notified. As I understand, PTO does not work that way.