'Manager wanted me to arrive 30 minutes early to get ready before clocking in': Manager demands worker arrive 30 minutes before their shift is set to start to begin working

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Oct 28, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

Almost certainly, at some point, those working shift work, or in other jobs where timesheets need to be kept, have been told by some manager not to "bother" reporting time that they worked over their shift because it's "inconvenient" for them to report it. Sometimes, this comes in the form of being told that it needs to be at least 15 minutes to be reported and counted for anything, but that's not really true—at all. If anything, if their system can't handle menial minutes overtime, then they should just be rounding up to some increment that it can handle… But you can't really go around suggesting this to your boss and the company's HR department without putting a target squarely on your back.

This former restaurant worker shared how their manager had once asked them to show up 30 minutes before their shift was to start and get their things organized so that they could "begin working" as soon as their shift was set to start, insisting that this would make them look like a "dedicated" employee. The worker shares that they outright refused, calling out their manager on the spot for their proposal that they work for free when they were already only making $12 an hour. 

Even though this experience happened some time ago, they shared it with this online employment community, sparking discussion on the topic with other members of the community and readers. See key selections of this discussion below. 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10421051904
    via Ahmed For Unsplash+

    Image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Image is for illustration only and subjects are models.

  • 02
    Manager wanted me to arrive 30 minutes early to get ready before clocking in. Workplace Abuse I'm asking out of curiosity- About 10 years ago, I was a cook at Ch e Fa while attending school. I clocked in right on time and stayed til I was done, rarely got a break.
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  • 03
    One day, my manager pulled me aside and said something along the lines of "show up 30 minutes early, get your line stocked, get your supplies and tools you need, then go clock in" because it makes me look like a good, dedicated employee.
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  • 04
    I looked him dead in the eyes and said "you pay me $12 an hour and want me to give you a free half hour every day? I won't do that, I don't work for free." Working 4-5 days a week, would mean it would shorten my check by 4-5 hours per pay period. That left a foul taste in my mouth.
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  • 05
    Later that week I got moved to the dish room and told they "needed me there" and I ended up no call/no showing and found a new job. I'm not going to do anything about it now since nothing really happened, but back then, what should I have done?
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  • 06
    swordstool • 8h ago • . what should I have done? Clocked in when you got there and started to get ready.
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  • 07
    • ki_mkt 7h ago • exactly that. only so many ways to nicely say 'go fi yourself' I read years ago, a Sheriff's office was having their deputies/officers come in pre-shift for the shift meeting. iirc, those officers. ended up suing the Sheriff's Dept for about year's worth of back-pay, for those 15-20 minute off- the-clock meetings and winning the lawsuit.
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  • 08
    BetterBiscuits • 7h ago It's wage theft. If anyone is experiencing this, report the business to the Department of Labor. It's a common practice in restaurant kitchens, and it's illegal.
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  • 09
    FunSuccess5 7h ago e Fa • C was a terrible place to work at even 20 years ago. I worked my way up from bakery to hostess but it was still . One night while upstairs, I got so fed up that I took off my radio, left it at the front desk and walked out in the middle of my shift. I've never done that before or since.
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  • 10
    Starfury42 • 7h ago • . Nope. You get paid for set up time and clean up - it's all part of the job. Intel lost a case years ago - they didn't wan to pay workers to get in/out of the clean. room suits but ended up paying when they lost in court.
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  • 11
    Junie_Wiloh . 6h ago. I worked for a gas station in NY that operated like this. Only worse.. there was no way to clock in or out. We were expected to be there 15 minutes early for cig count, sticking tanks, and pre-shift paperwork. I was always scheduled to work 2pm to 10pm.
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  • 12
    At the time, the state was helping with childcare. I had to document when I was dropping my son off, when I was getting into work, and when I was picking my son up from daycare. Once a month, we had a meeting to go over goals and go over the time sheets I submitted every week along with pay stubs. And it was them that noticed the discrepancies
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  • 13
    between my pay and the hours I was claiming to be at work. I honestly never noticed that I was literally only being paid to work from 2pm to 10pm and not the 15 minutes prior to 2pm and not the 30 to 45 minutes after 10pm for closing procedure work.
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  • 14
    The next shift, I walked in right at 2pm on the nose. Not one minute before or after. The Assistant manager came at me with, "You're late." Me: "No, I am not. I am on time." Her: "You know it is policy to be here 15 minutes early to do your counts and sticks."
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  • 15
    Me: "And you know it is the law to pay me for EVERY minute that I have to work." Her: "We don't have to pay you for that. Showing up 15 minutes early is customary. Everyone should be showing up early for work."
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  • 16
    Me: "You are required by law to pay your employees for every minute of every shift that they are mandated to be here, working. This includes showing up early, every meeting, and staying late." Her: "Well, I am going to need you to sign this write- up for being late." Me: "I wasn't late. I am not signing that."
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  • 17
    Her: "You have to. Regardless of your belief in how you are to be paid, you are still late." Me: "I am not signing that. In fact, I quit." The moment I got home after picking up my son, I called DoL and made a wage theft report. Both the assistant manager and the manager were fired. The
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  • 18
    company had to pay millions in back pay because apparently this was common throughout the entire company, and they had to pay some hefty fines. Two things happened within 6 months after this went down. I was a smoker back then(3 years nicotine free) and had stopped into the store I once worked at to buy a pack of cigarettes.
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  • 19
    There was a new manager on duty, and he was training a new closing cashier. Upon entering the store, he asked if I was looking for a job. I informed him I was "non-rehireable." He had asked why. I told him that I was the reason why he was now the new manager because I got the other 2 fired. I was also the cause for the company having to back pay millions. to current and former employees for lost wages.
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  • 20
    He said, "Oh..." The second thing to happen was I stopped into another store in another town, and the coworker I was supposed to take that shift over from was in working. I came in to buy some lunch food (they made some amazing pizza). On my way out, she followed and stopped me. "June, I want to thank you." "Thank me? Uhh.. why?"
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  • 21
    "I knew for a while that something was wrong with my pay and hours, and I didn't know how to go about getting it fixed. I was about to quit the day you did. Then everything went down and.. because of you I am a manager and I run this store. So thank you."
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  • 22
    So, to anyone else experiencing this in America, report that You can even do it anonymously if you still want to continue working there because everything else seems great. But, report it. This is wage theft, and you are worth every red cent they are to pay you (actually, you are worth more, but that's a whole different matter) for the time they require you to work.
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  • 23
    Velocoraptor3... . • 7h ago • I don't understand how managers don't think prep work is just that WORK! Are dense? You they did the absolute right thing. Never let anyone make you work for free. That is called
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  • 24
    "No" Brute_Squad_... • 4h ago. idle I was doing installs at a new office building earlier in my IT career. I had a boss tell me I should get in and prep my tools and pull my units an hour before I clocked in. I didn't. He came to me a few days later and told me it was required. I told him I would need an email stipulating that he wanted me to do this.
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  • 25
    I forwarded the email to his boss asking if it was policy. to do work off the clock. His boss shut it down and replied that it was a labor violation. It's almost like he knew what my next move was going to be.
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  • 26
    Relishwolf • 6h ago . I got a new job about 3 months ago and everything was good up until a week in when my boss asked me to show up early everyday to turn my computer on and be ready to work. I said sure and showed up 2 minutes early and turned my computer on and
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  • 27
    started working. Got called. into her office mid day and was let go because I didn't have the "gusto" to work there as everyone else showed up 15 minutes early to "get there morning in order" and I didn't do that once. I was never told this at any point other than her saying she wanted me early the day before.
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  • 28
    I refused to sign any paperwork on the termination and got her to write out exactly why I was let go in an email and she actually did it. She legit thought this was a normal thing to let someone go over. I came back to grab something I forgot and let everyone in the office know why I was let go when they asked. Told them she is committing wage theft and you all should stop showing up early.
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  • 29
    It's at will employment in Ontario Canada and I was only there for a week so they can let me go for whatever reason but I still opened a labour dispute with a copy of her email stating the reason I was let go so maybe something will happen but likely not.
    via Proud_Excitement_146

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