'No OT without manager approval': Worker uses OT policy to his advantage, leaves mid-shift once he hits 40 hours to go to the movies

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Nov 10, 2023 2:00 PM EST

There's absolutely nothing wrong with finding a loophole within your company's various policies. Make no mistake: your employers are finding loopholes all the time, especially when it comes to finding ways to pay you less. So for the sake of reciprocity, what's wrong with using your work's flawed and unspecific policies to your own advantage when it's appropriate?

This thread was posted to Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit by u/notarobotnorealy, who worked at a popular chain and was recently told by his manager that no one was allowed to work overtime unless their manager specifically granted them permission to do so. Once again, clearly, they were trying to avoid having to pay people more. Now, OP was gearing up for the release of a popular franchise film and had requested not to work a shift on Friday of the film's release. His request was, of course, ignored, and he was scheduled for a full shift starting at 2 pm that day. However, OP had already almost worked 40 hours that week, so when he showed up for his Friday shift, he decided to work until he hit the 40 hours and then peace out. Technically, he should have brought this fact up to a manager or sought managerial approval at 40 hours to work overtime for the remainder of the shift, but he had a movie to catch!

Keep scrolling below for the full story and for the best reactions in the comments section. For more content like this, check out this post about a Karen who got an employee unjustly written up at work.

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  • 01
    *Low Price $1297 "You should have asked a manager to stay." baby 201
    via Caique Morais
  • 02
    Not Overtime without manager approval. ok! M OC It was mid May 2002. If that seems oddly specific, it'll be clear soon. I(m22) was working for a certain US wall and/or mart based retail chain with a smiley face for a logo at the time. I was a sales associate who worked evening shift. In retail they are very clear about not being late so I always clocked in 5-10 minutes early and you can't go home until the manager gives the say so as we had to clean up the store after close.
    via u/notarobotnorealy
  • 03
    Add in that hourlong lunches are too long, and I'd often take 40 minutes and then clock back in. This led to my working 9-10-hour shifts when only scheduled for 8. This was the norm and for the most part no one cared. It's also important to know that this store vacillated between overtime for everyone when needed to OMG no overtime guys, knock it off! This was one of those no overtime windows and we were told "no OT without manager approval." Ah, cue the MC.
    via u/notarobotnorealy
  • 04
    May 2002 for those that don't remember or weren't alive for it, was the premiere of Star Wars Episode 2. This was a big deal to my nerdy Star Wars loving mind. But...
    via u/notarobotnorealy
  • 05
    management (or really their heartless scheduling program that I'm convinced spat out schedules without human interaction) scheduled me for that Friday. I was going to miss... Ha, no I was not. I'd already had 4 shifts that week which means when I showed up for my 2- 10pm shift I had already worked about 36 and a half hours. And no overtime meant that I had to leave before I hit 40 hours so as not to accrue any OT. I checked my hours when I clocked in, did some math on a piece of scrap paper in t
    via u/notarobotnorealy
  • 06
    They were often in the back or front end, rarely in the middle store where I worked, so I marched to the time clock and punched out. I gave my keys to a confused coworker saying I had hit forty. "Go to talk to Tony" he suggested. "Tony" is not a pseudonym; I just don't remember their names 20 years later. Thus, leaving around 5:30ish I had plenty of time for a 7pm show. It was great.
    via u/notarobotnorealy
  • 07
    On my next shift "Tony" asked why I left early. I said that I had hit 40 hours and had to leave. "You should have asked a manager to stay." It took all my willpower not to say that I didn't want to stay but I'm sure my early 20s just above minimum wage body language betrayed me. I said something to the effect of "I'll look harder next time" that neither of us believed and that was that.
    via u/notarobotnorealy
  • 08
    CodeZer0- 11 hr. ago Yeah I've had a few jobs like this. One of the worst actually was a white collar job at a surgeon's office. She put her foot down one day about no overtime.
    via u/notarobotnorealy
  • 09
    So the first few Fridays would roll around, and she would ask why I was leaving early. I told her why. She didn't like it on the 3rd one and thought I should stay (for free,
    via u/notarobotnorealy
  • 10
    still no overtime). I informed her I would turn her into the state so fast her head would spin and her lawyers would b slap her. (Pretty much verbatim). She brought it up to her husband which happened to own a business and I never heard about leaving early again
    via u/notarobotnorealy
  • 11
    HouseNumb3rs 12 hr. ago edited 11 hr. ago I had a new boss that pulled that same somehow think that I really need to have OT thus should BEG for it... He
    via u/notarobotnorealy
  • 12
    before he heads to the pub to Well, I'm out of town and on expenses about 70% of the time so ... everyday when 5PM rolls around, perfect time for close up the site and head out to happy hour. When asked why I didn't request OT?
    via u/notarobotnorealy
  • 13
    My reply was: since I had to ask THEIR permission IF I want to work OT and I don't see a need to do so. Conversely. the company need to ask for MY permission if they want me to miss my happy hour to work their OT and they have never seen a need to ask. Salaried non exempt is great, ask for it by name.
    via u/notarobotnorealy
  • 14
    Equivalent-Salary357. 12 hr. ago did some math on a piece of scrap paper in the Sporting Goods department LOL, math is always easier to do in the 'Sporting Goods' department. Heaven help you if you try to do math in 'Home, Furniture & Appliances'.
    via u/notarobotnorealy
  • 15
    SparklingDramaLlama · 41 min. ago Lol, my mallwart gm actually was a Tony.
    via u/notarobotnorealy

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workplace-stories work stories toxic-workplace job malicious compliance retail work malicious-compliance-reddit reddit thread Reddit company toxic-work-environment
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