Boss steals years of unpaid lunches, employee becomes manager and quietly reclaims every minute with extra-long breaks: 'I must have racked up close to 2,000 hours doing absolutely nothing'

Some workplaces run on teamwork, dedication, and a shared commitment to doing things the right way. Others run on unpaid labor disguised as "lunch."

That was the case here, where an employer routinely deducted 30 minutes from every shift despite requiring employees to answer phones, help customers, and basically pretend they weren't eating at all. Over the years, this added up to tens of thousands of dollars in stolen wages.

But when one employee moved up to shift manager, things took a turn.

Author image for Isabella Penn Isabella Penn
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  • If the boss wasn’t going to follow labor laws, then fine, everyone would simply start taking actual breaks. Two-hour lunches. Mid-morning breaks. Afternoon breaks. Long stretches of peaceful, sanctioned nothingness, all while the job still got done. The owner never noticed, mostly because he never showed up.

    By the final year, this employee had perfected the art of paid stillness, racking up hundreds of hours of quiet rebellion while still outperforming expectations. And honestly, I get it. 

    There’s a special kind of dignity in doing your job well while also reclaiming the time someone once tried to take from you.

  • male employee with headphones listening to music at desk
    via Vitaly Gariev For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.


     

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  • "My employer stole from us every shift, but I kept my mouth shut"

    qtg https://www.reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1peewir/my_employer_stole_from_us_every_shift_but_i_kept/ - We had 10 1/2 hour shifts. But only got paid for 10. The boss took off 30 mins for our lunch breaks.
    via qtg
  • qtg https://www.reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1peewir/my_employer_stole_from_us_every_shift_but_i_kept/ - However, we were required to work during lunch. He forced us to to answer calls and wait on customers during our unpaid lunch, but this is illegal.
    via qtg
  • qtg https://www.reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1peewir/my_employer_stole_from_us_every_shift_but_i_kept/ - He must have saved over 100k on payroll in the 5 years I worked there doing this.
    via qtg
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  • qtg https://www.reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1peewir/my_employer_stole_from_us_every_shift_but_i_kept/ - Anyway, when I became a shift manager I made sure we took 2 hour lunch breaks, an hour break in the morning, and an hour break in the afternoon.
    via qtg
  • qtg https://www.reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1peewir/my_employer_stole_from_us_every_shift_but_i_kept/ - and on slow days we would stand around do nothing for hours at a time. - all the while the job was being done, mind you.
    via qtg
  • qtg https://www.reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1peewir/my_employer_stole_from_us_every_shift_but_i_kept/ - the owner never found out as he never worked alongside of us. he would drop in on fridays to pay the bills, and occasionally call us to check in on things.
    via qtg
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  • qtg https://www.reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1peewir/my_employer_stole_from_us_every_shift_but_i_kept/ - In the last year alone I would sit in the breakroom on my phone for hours at a time, only answering calls and talking to customers as they came in.
    via qtg
  • qtg https://www.reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1peewir/my_employer_stole_from_us_every_shift_but_i_kept/ - I reckon in the last year 15/40 hours a week were spent doing absolutely nothing. Accumulatively I must have racked up close to 2000 hours doing absolutely nothing in a 4 year period.
    via qtg
  • qtg https://www.reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1peewir/my_employer_stole_from_us_every_shift_but_i_kept/ - I always showed up on time, stayed late if needed, made sure the job was done correctly, and always treated the customers with respect.
    via qtg
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  • qtg https://www.reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1peewir/my_employer_stole_from_us_every_shift_but_i_kept/ - anyway, he promised me health insurance when I turned 26, but when it came time to do it he mysteriously couldn't afford it, so I left.
    via qtg
  • qtg https://www.reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1peewir/my_employer_stole_from_us_every_shift_but_i_kept/ - the next job I worked at, a hospital billing department, we had our work queue laid out on our screen every morning.
    via qtg
  • qtg https://www.reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1peewir/my_employer_stole_from_us_every_shift_but_i_kept/ - I would shred through the queue in the morning, and sit on my ass the rest of the shift.
    via qtg
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  • qtg https://www.reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1peewir/my_employer_stole_from_us_every_shift_but_i_kept/ - I carry these lessons with me wherever I go :)
    via qtg
  • Coder Joe1 Your story is an interesting contradiction. I can't believe he worked you so hard yet was never there and you were able to not work most of the time.
    via CoderJoe1
  • OP qtg it was a dog boarding kennel. come in the morning, clean the runs, feed the dogs, medicate them, do laundry. Wait on customers and calls as they come in. However, the manager and owner INSISTED we must be working at all times. When I became a shift manager I said fuck all that noise. Took care of the dogs and then sat on my phone
    via qtg
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  • QweenKush420 I'm trying to find the petty revenge part...
    via QweenKush420
  • OP qtg owner stole from us, so we passively stole back
    via qtg
  • wellthatexplainsalot This is it's very illegal in most places, that he didn't pay you. It's called wage theft. Look for your local labor board or equivalent, they usually don't fuck around, and will also fine him. If you worked 5 years, 50 weeks a year, 5 days a week, at $10/hr, and had half an hour of wages stolen each day, then you are owed $6,250. Find out how to register a complaint, and get paid that money plus interest.
    via wellthatexplainsalot
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  • OP qtg yes, I knew it was illegal, but rather than reporting him I decided I'd rather have a job where I could just sit and do nothing for 10-15 hours a week.
    via qtg
  • get-confident-stupid You gave him exactly what he paid for.
    via get-confident-stupid
  • OP qtg I highly doubt if he walked in on his workers watching netflix he would call it "exactly what he paid for" lol
    via qtg
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  • Embarrassed_Wheel_92 OP made sure business was taken care of, then slacked. Owner was petty but also dumb if he didn't realize there were too many workers or not enough volume or whatever. I don't care if OP was exagerating, I love this story! Righteous revenge!
    via Embarrassed_Wheel_92
  • OP qtg No exaggeration. It was exactly like I described. If I was given health insurance I'd still be working there today!
    via qtg
  • NotYourNanny And the day after you left, he continued to steal from everyone else. And the people you worked with, who had gotten used to the slacking, likely all got fired very quickly, leaving only new employees for him to steal from. If, on the other hand, somebody had file a well documented complaint with the labor board, he would have gotten fined a lot of money, and learned that he isn't allowed to do that. (And when he fired you for it, and he would have, that gets you a bigger settlement
    via NotYourNanny
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  • OP qtg slow down there partner. I always put the animals first. Our netflix sessions did not impede on the well-being of the animals. not in the slightest, and by the time I left, the manager and assistant manager had left. leaving just two other shift managers, who followed my lead. also i made sure everyone who came through that place knew it was illegal, but nobody cared because it was seen as a nice trade off
    via qtg
  • omniwrench- Wait so you wouldnt play with the dogs or anything? I don't know if this is something boarding kennels generally do, but idk It feels kinda neglectful and scummy to say you did so much "nothing" in a role where you're looking after living creatures you've been paid to take care of?
    via omniwrench-
  • OP qtg oh dude, we played with the dogs. that was one of the the best perks of the job. if you couldnt find someone, chances were they were playing with a dog inside their run
    via qtg
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  • Excellent_One5980 I get the petty part but I would have gone nuclear, and contacted the labor board.
    via Excellent_One5980
  • mat42m To be fair, you're basically describing 90% of jobs
    via mat42m

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