Manager asks employee to stay an extra 5 minutes while clocked out, employee wonders if that's legal: 'I'm honestly pretty frustrated'

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Nov 15, 2025 10:00 AM EST

Dealing with your managers can be a complicated thing. You want to make a good impression, but you don't want to let yourself be walked over. You want to give your all to your job, but you also want to protect your peace. This can be a very difficult line to walk. But you have to be on guard for situations where you might be taken advantage of. In these moments, nobody will stand up for you except for you. You have to be vigilant and make sure you're getting everything you need out of a given agreement. 

That's the conundrum this worker found themselves in when their new boss asked them to stay a little later after work. This wouldn't have been a problem; we're all used to having to say late sometimes, except for the fact that they were already clocked out. Every alarm bell should go off when we're asked to work for free, at our jobs that are supposed to pay us. That doesn't stop some managers from trying, though, and that's what happened in this story. 

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  • A woman who works at a cafe does her job.
    via Irina

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • The employee was left wondering whether or not they were in the wrong. They wondered if what their employer was asking them to do was legal or if they should seek some outside counsel. Scroll on to read the full story and see what they had to say. 

  • Can my manager legally make me stay on the premises after clocking out?

    I recently started a new job and tonight after closing I stepped outside (to walk to my car and go home) and my manager ran outside and told me I'm "not allowed" to leave and that I need to stay in the building until someone does a safety check on the building. I asked if I was supposed
    via u/AM-419
  • to be on the clock as I had clocked out several minutes ago and she said no. I said that she can't make me stay if I am no longer on the clock and she basically said again that it's procedure and I am not allowed to leave. I'm honestly
    via u/AM-419
  • pretty frustrated and I feel like this is blatantly illegal. My coworkers basically said that they wait off the clock every night and that it's just what has always been done. I would appreciate an outside perspective on this.
    via u/AM-419

  • Commenters gave their two cents.

    Final_Lingonberry5... . 6h ago Obviously would depend on your location. But frankly; if it's "mandatory", it's paid. End of discussion. 5minutes is 5minutes.
    via u/Final_Lingonberry586
  • AutoRedux • 5h ago . Home depot and Lowe's got sued over this and lost bigly. Ask your manager if they're willing to take that risk.
    via u/AutoRedux
  • AlsoCommiePuddin So clock back in
    via u/AlsoCommiePuddin
  • A woman who works at a cafe talks on the phone.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • WomanInQuestion · 5h ago Ask her to provide you with the written company policy that explains this rule.
    via u/WomanInQuestion
  • Nytherion 5h ago Don't clock out until they are ready to let you leave. But feel free to stop working at the end of shift and tell them you'll be waiting by the clock for them.
    via u/Nytherion
  • TinyEmergencyCake 5h ago Keep talking with your coworkers. Encourage them to call the department of labor in your state. You all are due a nice payout for the lost wages. And unionize.
    via u/TinyEmergencyCake
  • ILoveUncommonSe... • 4h ago Even if it's for your own safety, that's the company's problem. If you have to be there, they have to pay you. *I'm not a lawyer, but I will fight to my last breath against a company trying to screw an employee over!
    via u/ILoveUncommonSense
  • Unhappy_Energy_741 5h ago Fuck that. I'm done and I'm leaving.
    via u/Unhappy_Energy_741
  • superkow ⚫5h ago Don't work for free, ever. If you're supposed to do the security check, then clock out once it's done. If someone else has to do it but you "can't" leave until it's done, then clock out once it's done.
    via u/superkow
  • Medical-Ad106.6h ago They can't 'legally' make you stay even while you're clocked in, bud. The question you need to ask is 'will I get fired for not following their rules' and the answer is probably.
    via u/Medical-Ad106
  • TheCrimsonSteel 5h ago This feels like some excuse, but "play the game." Get your Employee Handbook, or whatever they use that has all their official work policies and look through it. Assuming you don't see anything about this safety check thing, ask your boss about it.
    via u/TheCrimsonSteel
  • Act curious, pretend like youre just trying to be the best little worker drone you can be, and not like you're calling them on their BS by wanting to see this "safety check" in writing. (Which is what youre actually doing) Then, either this will exist in writing, in which case you can see whether or not it is legal, or you won't get anything in writing, in which case you'll know theyre full of crap.
    via u/TheCrimsonSteel
  • If they try to discipline you, be prepared for them to write you up in vague ways, like "not following supervisor/insubordination" and theyll conveniently leave out the bit about the non existent "safety check." If they do, make them update that to state why.
    via u/TheCrimsonSteel
  • Or, very rarely, you'll get some horror story of like employees getting jumped in the parking lot or some insane incident that this came from. If its something like that, use your judgement. Short of a "yeah, its a rough neighborhood, this is just a precaution ever since the incident" type explanation, this is some dumb BS.
    via u/TheCrimsonSteel
  • kr4ckenm3fortune 5h ago You would need to do the four things: 1. Ask them where in the training or handbook that this is required. 2. WTF is this "SAFETY CHECK" on the "BUILDING" that is conducted and why does that requires you to be on site?
    via u/kr4ckenm3fortune
  • 3. Ask for that in writing 4. Look at the "manager" and inform them that they should'va included that in the "training" and that once clocked out, you're legally allowed to leave.
    via u/kr4ckenm3fortune
  • Be wary, as doing this, they'll try to push you out. And say it louder for the people in the back and make sure they can hear: If we're not on the clock and this "SAFETY CHECK" isn't paid, why the fuck are we standing around? If i'm not getting paid to stay here, then i'm heading off. I'm only paid for the time I'm scheculed for, not for the manager to penny pinch because they can't afford to have us wait.
    via u/kr4ckenm3fortune
  • squirrellysiege 4h ago I worked in retail and we had to do this for closing shift. The difference is that we would wait by clock until the manager did the security sweep. Once they gave the okay, we all clocked out.
    via u/squirrellysiege
  • nipslippinjizzsippin ⚫5h ago they cant "make" you stay... period. you can walk out mid shift without clocking out. curious what this saftey check is about though, who does it, when do they do it? never heard of such a thing.
    via u/nipslippinjizzsippin
  • can it not be done before you clock out? are they waiting for everyone to be clocked out before doing it? how long does the safety from the check last? what are checking for?
    via u/nipslippinjizzsippin
  • fuzzyluzzi ⚫ 2h ago I got into it with my boss over a 5min pass-on. I had to do it on my time. So I broke it down for him: 6min x 5 days a week x 50 weeks in a year = 25 Hours they owed me. They finally relented and scheduled an overlap. Never stay on property or work a minute past when you clock out.
    via u/fuzzyluzzi

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