'You can't use your phone': Company refuses to let workers without ‘management title’ to use phones; contractor stops working, employees follow his lead, costing company $100,000

Eleonora Bader

Sep 5, 2023 6:00 PM EDT

Companies just don't get it. They simply don't understand that in order to work peacefully with the people they employ, they need to stop forcing employees to heed rules that are so out of place, it isn't even funny.

When companies hire contractors, they take into account that this is no regular, run-of-the-mill employee who works on the company's payroll, receiving wages and benefits in exchange for following work guidelines. No, no, contractors are much different. See, a contractor is a separate entity, if you will. They have their own autonomy and are usually flexible, but they do not receive health insurance or paid time off. So when hiring a contractor, keep that in mind — they owe you, like anybody else with a contract, but they can up and go if they want.

Plus, no PTO? Pffft, give me a break. Why bother staying loyal to a company at all? That is the beauty of being a contractor. Now, onto the story. Our storyteller, OP, otherwise known as u/therandomuser84, worked in warehouses for years, and a few years back, he was a contractor. When companies were stuck in a rut, they would hire them, and as OP was a shift lead, he was the 'highest person on site', but was not technically, title-wise, a manager. But who cares about titles, right?

Wrong. This company cared, a lot. So much so, that it actually ended up costing them 100k. Curious as to how they managed to royally mess it all up? Scroll down below for the story. For more like this, here is a builder who built a house on land he didn't own; yet that still didn't stop him from messing up a young family's life… for a bit, at least. That is, until a very special lawyer got involved.