HR Forces Employee to Order and Pick Up Lunch for 5 People With 5 Different Debit Cards On Her Unpaid Lunch Break

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Jun 29, 2026 12:30 PM EDT

Why can't they order it for delivery on the company card? 

If you've had a job in your lifetime, you've probably wondered whether your boss's requests are legal or not. If you've been forced to work through your lunch break, your company might be breaking the law based on where you live. When I was a teenager, I worked about two weeks' worth of shifts at a Chinese restaurant without clocking in because, according to my manager, the clock-in system wasn't working. I tried to get the money I was owed for that time, but I never got it. That certainly was illegal, but there's nothing I can do about it now, since it was in 2017 and the restaurant has been closed for years. Having me work without clocking in might've been illegal, but it was certainly illegal not to pay me for hours and hours of work. 

Companies need to follow the law, not just because they should treat their employees with dignity, but because there are significant liability issues at stake if they don't. If an employee gets hurt because their job involved cutting corners on safety and rules, the employee can sue them with a lawyer who is willing to work for free because they know they will win. 

The employee in this story is working for an incredibly dysfunctional hospital. They want her to order everyone lunch with everyone's personal debit cards, all while sitting at the front desk and attending to her normal responsibilities. They are willing to take away her lunch break so she can get lunch for everyone else without paying her for the pleasure. 

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  • A large spread of takeout food ordered by a hospital receptionist on her unpaid lunch break for the higher-ups to enjoy.
    via Ambitious Studio* | Rick Barrett

    A representation of a large spread of takeout food ordered by a hospital receptionist on her unpaid lunch break for the higher-ups to enjoy.

  • HR makes me order and pick up lunch almost daily on my unpaid break

    This is becoming a daily event now since I have been at this job for one month. I do not order any food and don't want to have anything to do with this. My job is to answer 8 telephone lines that
    via u/brokenpa
  • ring all day and direct visitors in a VERY large hospital. HR, the Director, Accounting, Infection Control, and the Director of Nursing are all on the top floor. For lunch, one of them comes down with 5
    via u/brokenpa
  • debit cards and (usually poorly) written orders to a restaurant of their choice. Friday it was Arby's. They demand I go get the food, separate all orders into
    via u/brokenpa
  • EGE i Arby's ROAST BEEF Sandwich Drive Thru IS DELICIOUS CLASSIC ROAST BEEF 3 FOR DRIVE-THRU $13.79 OPEN UNTIL 10PM
    via Viva Americana

    A neon sign of an Arby's, which is known for selling roast beef sandwiches and the famous slogan, "We Have The Meats."

  • different transactions, and provide proof of receipt. This means I have to take my own car and go into Arby's (or whatever other restaurant) during my unpaid lunch break. Leaving the building
    via u/brokenpa
  • without clocking out is a company violation resulting in termination. I never get anything to eat because the cashier at the restaurant is already ped
    via u/brokenpa
  • when I say I have 5 transactions. This whole ordeal takes up my whole lunch break and I don't get to eat my own packed meal or take a real break.
    via u/brokenpa
  • Then, I have to take all the food to the top floor where I receive complaints that I messed it all up. Friday was the last straw for me when they had me order
    via u/brokenpa
  • delivery from a popular restaurant over the phone and I did so from the front desk. I was disciplined by HR for reading their credit cards out loud at the front desk and was told I should have
    via u/brokenpa
  • THE
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A model of a hospital receptionist ordering five orders of food for the higher-ups at the hospital, saying their credit card numbers out loud for all to hear. 

  • "used my own cell phone on lunch break" to place their lunch order. Then, when the food came and I was working, I was told again that I should "know
    via u/brokenpa
  • better than to let it sit there" and it's "my job to bring it upstairs.". Not in my job description. I am not to leave the desk.
    via u/brokenpa
  • Obtuse-Angel That's not your own lunch break, that's a work task. And is you're in the US the IRS publishes the mileage reimbursement rate for using your personal vehicle for work tasks during your shift. Start logging your odometer start and end values for each trip and calculate the total mileage, then ask your boss if there's a form to use or if you should create one.
    via u/Obtuse-Angel
  • Also start being more assertive about protecting your own breaks. Claim to have a personal appointment/ scheduled call you'll be using your (legally mandated) unpaid break for, and ask if your "lunch courier” responsibilities should come before or after your own break. But start looking for a new job, because a company who does things like this won't like it when someone starts insisting on their legal worker's rights.
    via u/Obtuse-Angel
  • Ki-to-Life-5054 It's illegal to deprive someone of a break, and making them work unpaid through lunch is wage theft, so OP already has a case for the Dept of Labor, if in the US.
    via u/Ki--Life-5054
  • Linkcott18 I absolutely would not do that, especially with other people's cards. I would just play dumb. "I am sorry. I am supposed to remain at this desk, and I am not comfortable using someone else's card, even if I am authorized to do so."
    via u/Linkcott18
  • Domdaisy You are 1000% not supposed to use random people's debit cards. Are they giving OP the PINs? Just wild. I have only ever used like my best friend's card in a circumstance like this. I would have said absolutely not the second anyone tried to hand me their debit card at work. Door Dash and UberEats is a thing, it's 2026. They can all sack up and pay the delivery fees if they want lunch.
    via u/Domdaisy
  • brokenpa OP What absolutely blows my mind is I had to read their security codes then on Friday I also needed their ZIP codes. So, I had to place a restaurant on hold to call all of them individually and find out all their zip codes to run their cards. Then, I got in trouble for doing this on the clock.
    via u/brokenpa
  • saintofhate Why are you doing all this? Like no seriously, why are you being so much of a doormat for this job? Are you really young? Is this like your first real job? This is not how you were supposed to be treated as an employee. You need to stand up for yourself. And if you are worried about getting start looking for a new job. H_I the way they treat you get a new job anyhow.
    via u/saintofhate
  • LifelsFine-Not 1. State wage board 2. Employment lawyer 3. New job I'm serious. This is so illegal it's not even funny. Look up an employment attorney in your area and call their office. Most of them will work for zero up front once you tell them the case details like what you're saying above.
    via u/LifelsFine-Not
  • Bassracerx If your hourly Dont clock oit for lunch then since you are clearly working. Hr cant even dispute it since you they want to write you up for "doing something wrong" about it.
    via u/Bassracerx
  • brokenpa OP This can get interesting if I'm in an accident in my own car while on the clock. They said they immediately terminate anyone who leaves the property while clocked in.
    via u/brokenpa
  • Diesel07012012 Are any of these clowns actually your boss?
    via u/Diesel07012012
  • brokenpa OP The Director oversees the entire hospital so yes
    via u/brokenpa

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lunch arbys cell phones hospital debit card driving human resources bad bosses illegal unpaid
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