Power plant worker denied remote work during snowstorm, takes vacation day instead, and refuses to come in when the plant becomes short-staffed, still gets paid for "full-day" after logging 10-minutes of texting supervisor: 'He approved my time sheet'

Author image for Emma Saven
Emma Saven
Jan 24, 2026 7:00 PM EST

This power plant worker turned his company's very own policies against them! 

Is a snowstorm a good enough excuse to work from home, or is it just that? An excuse. This supervisor appears to think so. A power-plant worker had requested a work-from-home day after waking up to a heavy 10" snowstorm…It would take him ages to get to work, and it was clearly a safety risk. However, the power plant's policy for inclement weather allowed employees to get paid for a full day's work, regardless of the time the weather allowed them to arrive at work. Despite this policy gifting a bit of leeway to its employees, this situation felt more drastic…So, after the supervisor denied his employee access to work from home, he decided to pull out the 'vacation day' card instead…

But as a few hours passed, his supervisor understood that they would be completely understaffed, and began begging his employee to help him with the towering workload. In response, he politely declined, explaining that 'my supervisor has not allowed me to work from home today!' Not only did he throw that sarcastic comment in his supervisor's face, but he even went on to log his day as "worked" after engaging in the conversation! If this isn't a man who appreciates policy, we're not sure who is!

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  • There's truly nothing most employees love more than a work-from-home day, especially in the winter months. A reason to stay in your PJs all day, well, at least your PJs bottoms, and have unlimited access to everything your fridge has to offer. You don't have to deal with an endless array of questions or an investigation into what's in your lunchbox. 

    Easy, simple, and quiet. Some could argue, it's the most efficient way to work - if you have enough discipline to maintain a healthy distance from your duvet. Many people view a work-from-home day as a sort of mid-week ‘refresh’ to get their brains moving again…And don't even argue ‘that’s what the weekends are for,'…we both know it's not the same! 

    However, not everyone has the opportunity to work from home, and much like this man has proved…When there's a potential opportunity to finally live out that dream, nothing will stop them! 

  • 01
    Man cleaning the snow off of the roof of his car
    via chalabalaphotos

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

  • 02

    Don’t work from home

    This was 2018ish; pre- pandemic. I was working at a nuclear power plant in the mid-Atlantic. Once or twice a year we would get a heavy snowstorm, but we were far enough south that the local government wouldn't plow or salt anything other than the main roads.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 03
    The power plant has a "policy" during inclement weather that no matter how long it takes you to get to work if you make it in you get paid for the day, otherwise you have to take vacation.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 04
    Note: I, like a majority of my coworkers, live in the closest large city which is an hour away.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 05
    The drive to the power plant is 1/2 interstate, 1/2 hilly, curvy country road. I wake up and see we have about 10" of snow over night and text my supervisor to ask if I can work from home; I have my laptop with me, don't have any work going on that I would need to be inside the power plant, and I'd mostly be reviewing paperwork anyway.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 06
    Supervisor tells me the "policy" for inclement weather and that he was at work already and the roads "weren't that bad".
    via cougarsyrup
  • 07
    I reiterate that I would just be sitting at my desk doing paperwork when I eventually get in.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 08
    He is hearing none of this and tells me I am not allowed to work from home.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 09
    I need to drive the 50+ miles to work or take vacation. I didn't even bother to respond and decided take the vacation day.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 10
    I head to a local store about a half mile (0.8 km) away and pick up some snow sleds.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 11
    I'd like to note that the roads were bad, I was driving a 4x4 and had some trouble getting to/from the store.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 12
    The wife and I do some sledding in the neighborhood, have some hot chocolate, and other classic "snow day" activities.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 13
    Around 11:00 I get a text from my supervisor, "OP, are you able to come in to work, hardly anyone showed up because of the snow.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 14
    Young adult man texting on his phone while sitting on a couch
    via Karola G

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

  • 15
    There is some document we need reviewed. And we really need you here in case we need someone to do something in the power plant".
    via cougarsyrup
  • 16
    I tell him sorry, but I'm taking vacation today, per the "policy". He tells me he's emailing me the document to review and he can sign it for me if I approve.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 17
    I replied, "I'd take a look at it if I could, by my supervisor told me I wasn't allowed to work from home".
    via cougarsyrup
  • 18
    He never responded to that and I never heard anything else about it, but I didn't have to work that day, which was nice.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 19
    Bonus MC: I am a salary employee, but have to record hours worked in a computer program.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 20
    Our real HR policy says, "if an employee works any part of the day they will be paid for the whole day".
    via cougarsyrup
  • 21
    Two construction supervisors coming up with a strategy outside
    via dapaimages

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

  • 22
    I put 10 minutes of "work" time in for the time I was texting with him and didn't record any vacation hours.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 23
    He approved my time sheet for 10 minutes of work and I saved a day of vacation.
    via cougarsyrup
  • 24
    RBeck I presume power plants have some kind of staffing minimum so I hope they have a system for volunteers to stay at the plant and sleep in shifts when there is really bad weather forecasted.
    via RBeck
  • 25
    bigbaltfun Yep, no need driving in a bad conditions where you might need a patron Saint to watch over you so you don't skid off any Cliffs. Hopefully you aren't scheduled on Sunday. You may need to do some more text message responses.
    via bigbaltfun
  • 26
    Illuminatus-Prime Oooo! NICE!! I kept hard-copies of the employee handbook, my contract, my job description AND my résumé at work and at home for instances like the OP described.
    via Illuminatus-Prime

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day off snow petty revenge supervisor power plant vacation days
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