'I can’t afford to pay them': Employee fired and asked to repay $1,100 to employer

Brad Dickson • Managing Editor

Dec 29, 2022 9:00 AM EST

There are petty employers — then there are employers who fire you for bogus claims of wage theft and demand repayment of said wages. The crazy part is the employer doesn't seem to have (or isn't willing to offer) any proof to back their claims. They're just like, "You're fired, and btw you owe us money," and expect the employee to comply.

After being accused of claiming hours that they had not worked, this employer demanded repayment of the supposed wages under the threat of a lawsuit. In reality, the employee had been skipping their lunch break and working through so they could leave half an hour at the end of the day. The employee, Reddit user u/disappoint-mint, then turned to Reddit's r/antiwork subreddit in order to share their experience and seek advice from the avid readers of the sub.

They posted their story to the popular Reddit subreddit r/antiwork in a thread titled "I was fired am being told I need to repay $1,100." The thread went viral and drew the ire of readers who shared their thoughts in the comments.

Keep reading for the screenshots of the thread and reactions below.