Electrician gets fired after demanding to take the lunch break HR promised: 'We worked 10 hour days and are not allowed to take a lunch break!'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Feb 24, 2026 9:00 AM EST

When HR promises you an hour-long lunch break, they should not pretend to be shocked when you take it.

This electrician had the unfortunate experience of working at a company where he was expected to work 10 hours a day without stopping, not even for a decent lunch hour. The strange part was that these so-called norms actually went against what the electrician had been promised prior to signing a contract with HR. That agreement expressly stated that the author was entitled to a lunch break.

People, it's not like this guy was asking for special perks! Besides, choosing to let someone go for demanding what he was promised is a recipe for backlash.

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  • An electrician completes his work shift installing a solar panel system while wearing gloves.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    An electrician completes his work shift installing a solar panel system while wearing gloves.

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

  • Got fired for demanding to take a lunch break

    I was working as an electrician(recently got let go). we worked 10 hour days and are not allowed to take a lunch break.
    via J_Chico
  • During my orientation i asked about breaks HR said some crews take an hour or 30 minutes depending on the job.
    via J_Chico

  • A one-hour break for folks who work in trades that require physical labor isn't even standard practice. In fact, it's below standard practice in many parts of the world. If anyone has found themselves in a similar position as this electrician, do yourself a favor and contact your union representative to see what can be done. You might be more protected in these scenarios than you even realize.

  • Got to the site my first day and got told they dont take lunch breaks. Had to get a hold of HR and signed some documents for me to be allowed to take lunch breaks.
    via J_Chico
  • The entire crew hated me for it but i didn't care is hard work and i need to replenish.
    via J_Chico
  • An electrician inspects the solar panel system he's installing.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    An electrician inspects the solar panel system he's installing.

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

  • i lift weights and do martial arts after work. Also from the jump i set clear boundaries that i couldn't stay past 4:30.
    via J_Chico
  • the schedule was supposed to be 4 10s but switched to 5 10s because they were behind which i was fine with, but they wouldn't leave the site till 7-730.
    via J_Chico
  • i was not doing that. i value my time and dont live to work. This other guy and me were the only ones that would work in the confined spaces because everyone else refused.
    via J_Chico

  • It's upsetting that the other electricians at this company had accepted these subpar conditions, seemingly without much pushback. This kind of phenomenon just goes to show that so many folks out there are too afraid to rock the boat when what's at stake here is basic decency for workers.

  • There was a lot of people just standing around doing nothing. also got in a very heated argument with my grumpy old foreman because my hands were freezing from being wet and it was also 10 degrees with wind outside so i went in the work van to warm up because my fingers were numb.
    via J_Chico
  • he started yelling at me to get back to work mind you we were done and was just picking up our equipment to go home.
    via J_Chico
  • Told him i was cold and he had to wait. He decided to insult me and took him to HR nothing got done because he is the owners grandson.
    via J_Chico
  • All i gotta say is fk the trades
    via J_Chico
  • An electrician completes his work shift installing a solar panel system while wearing gloves.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    An electrician completes his work shift installing a solar panel system while wearing gloves.

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

  • We empathize with the electrician's experience and hope that he's on to finding a better situation, one in which he gets a chance to ensure that these contractual negotiations will be honored once he's fully onboarded so as to avoid this kind of thing happening again in the future. 

    Keep scrolling below to see what several members of this online community had to say about the electrician's unnecessary search for a job that allows him to eat his lunch in peace.

  • SanJose Throw Away2023 In the US this is very illegal. You'd file a complaint with the department of labor I think. It would take months if not a year, but eventually they'd go after them for you. \\Edit\\ as others have pointed out below this varies by state. I thought it was Federal. OP you might want to check your state regulations, where I live it's a break every 2 hours, lunch every 4.
    via J_Chico
  • J_Chico Original Poster's Reply Yep, Ohio do not legally require us to take our lunch breaks sadly. i did all this research
    via J_Chico
  • bebop 1065 Trades aren't the problem. Exploitative companies are the problem.
    via J_Chico
  • J_Chico Original Poster's Reply Yeah... the job itself wasn't bad. i like being active. but i used to dread every morning going there
    via J_Chico
  • Simply_Jordan_ you got fired for not playing along in a crew culture that runs on "shut up and grind."
    via J_Chico
  • Glum_Possibility_367 Rules vary by state. There are at least a dozen states that do not legally require employers to grant lunch breaks.
    via J_Chico
  • Brother-Algea Actually in the state of Pa it's not.
    via J_Chico
  • jesusonoro they fired you for exercising a legal right. classic retaliation. bet they'll keep breaking labor laws until someone makes it expensive for them
    via J_Chico

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Tags

working in trades employee fired tradesman human resources overworked-employees electrician
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