22-year-old retail employee walks out mid-shift to go to the movies, maliciously complying with strict OT policy: 'I had hit 40 hours and had to leave'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Nov 25, 2024 2:00 PM EST

It's always funny when managers decide to be strict about their overtime policies. If they want employees to abide by a "no overtime without managerial approval" rule, they're going to have to hold their end of that bargain when the circumstances do not work in their favor. Overtime policies should not be fair-weather rules.

Here, we have a retail employee who had already worked 36 and a half hours that week when they were scheduled for a Friday afternoon shift that would certainly overlap with the opening night movie plans he had made. As any movie fan knows, opening night for your most anticipated film of the year is not exactly something you miss for work if you can help it. So, this employee worked a portion of his Friday shift until 40 hours were reached, upon which he left immediately. Of course, his manager Tony was upset about this, but that's what your policy stated, sir!

Keep scrolling. below for the full story and for the best reactions from folks in the comments section. For more, check out this post about a warehouse worker who know had to buy water at work.

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  • 01
    KATE
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)
  • 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
    via notarobotnorealy
  • 03
    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 notarobotnorealy
  • 04
    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
    via notarobotnorealy
  • 05
    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 notarobotnorealy
  • 06
    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 notarobotnorealy
  • 07
    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
    via notarobotnorealy
  • 08
    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
    via notarobotnorealy
  • 09
    a piece of scrap paper in the Sporting Goods department and calculated exactly how long I had to stay. Then with only minutes to go I didn't see a manager to ask for OT.
    via notarobotnorealy
  • 10
    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
    via notarobotnorealy
  • 11
    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 notarobotnorealy
  • 12
    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
    via notarobotnorealy
  • 13
    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 notarobotnorealy
  • 14
    CodeZero- 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 notarobotnorealy
  • 15
    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 notarobotnorealy
  • 16
    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
    via notarobotnorealy
  • 17
    it up to her husband which happened to own a business and I never heard about leaving early again
    via notarobotnorealy
  • 18
    HouseNumb3rs 12 hr. ago · edited 11 hr. ago I had a new boss that pulled that same He somehow think that I really need to have OT thus should BEG for it...
    via notarobotnorealy
  • 19
    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,
    via notarobotnorealy
  • 20
    perfect time for close up the site and head out to happy hour. When asked why I didn't request OT?
    via notarobotnorealy
  • 21
    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
    via notarobotnorealy
  • 22
    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 notarobotnorealy
  • 23
    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 notarobotnorealy
  • 24
    SparklingDramaLlama · 41 min. ago Lol, my mallwart gm actually was a Tony.
    via notarobotnorealy

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