Employee loses new job after 4 days when they complain about their PTO policy: 'They were unwilling to meet me halfway'

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Aug 8, 2026 10:00 AM EDT

What happens when you start a new job and nothing goes to plan?

It can be a risk to start a new job. You never quite know what it's going to entail until you get there. You are taking a risk on what kind of environment you're going to step into, and you can get a sense of it before you start, but you don't get the full picture until your first day on the job. If you don't mesh with the people you work with, then you're in for a rough ride. You don't want to end up in a space that makes you feel uncomfortable or obligated, but you also probably fought pretty hard to get that job and want to hold onto it if you can. That's the situation that this employee found herself in when she started a new job. There were red flags from the start, and she wanted to make sure she got ahead of everything before it became an issue. At the beginning of a job is a good time to define your boundaries with something and to make sure that you're not being taken advantage of. But there is a double-edged sword to this. You don't wanna come out swinging too hard, or else your company might get scared. They don't want somebody who's going to be a troublemaker and cause too many issues in the day-to-day workflow. 

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  • A businessperson carries their belongings out of the office
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    A businessperson carries their belongings out of the office

  • It's a delicate balance between asking for what you want and making sure that you don't overstep your reach as a new employee. The woman in the story found herself on the wrong side of that, and wasn't sure whose fault it was. In an ideal world, we would all ask for what we want and respect each other's boundaries and wants and desires. But we don't always live in an ideal world, and sometimes you have to make sacrifices for your chosen career. Keep reading to see what happened here and let us know what you think in the comments.

  • Lost my job after 4 days today.

    Small company, under 10 employees. They have a strict in office 8:30-4:30 M-F policy. I was very understanding and accepting of that when I took the job offer. On day 1, my boss let me know I'd be going on work travel over the weekend. Unexpected, but great! Sounds fun. I had a medical treatment
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  • appointment scheduled for Friday and I had it moved to Tuesday afternoon. I was very open with my boss about what the appointment was for and why it was recurring every other week. Maybe too open? But if I can't be open with him, then this isn't right for me. I asked to flex my hours because I'd be working all
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  • weekend and I anticipated working over 40 hours. He insisted I take PTO and that I would be required to work the full 40 hours the following week. That didn't sit well with me and I pushed back and said there are laws in place that prevent salaried workers from being overworked when they are eligible for overtime.
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  • They set up a meeting on day 2 and gave me the company policy and procedures which includes information about PTO. I explained that any hours I work beyond 80 hours in a pay period, they would be getting my labor for free. They said the hours don't matter because I am salaried. I asked, what if I worked 50-60 hours in week? You'd make me work 40 hours the next week? Nonono, we wouldn't never do that to anyone, they said.
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  • The only way I could earn more PTO was if I traveled 5 consecutive days. Then I would earn a remote day and a PTO day. Otherwise, nothing. I dropped it. I knew I was never going to gain any ground. I told them I accept the policy and took
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  • the PTO. I just worked and kept my head down. I was polite with staff, went into work on time, did good solid work...until this afternoon when I had to meet in the conference room and they terminated me. They only told me they were moving in a different direction. I'm not particularly upset about losing this job. But I am disappointed they were unwilling to meet me halfway.
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  • Was I being unreasonable? Do I just need to deal with this sort of issue moving forward? It felt like the right thing to do to advocate for myself, especially about medical appointments.
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  • A businessperson carries their belongings out of the office after being fired
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    Subjects are models.

    A businessperson carries their belongings out of the office after being fired

  • OliviaPresteign You mention laws in place to prevent salaried workers from being overworked. Are you exempt or non-exempt? There aren't really laws that protect exempt employees from working more than 40 hours per week unless there's something specific in your jurisdiction.
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  • It doesn't sound like this was a good fit for you. I don't disagree with you that they shouldn't have required you to take PTO for an appointment (unless you were going to be out all day), but you really shouldn't have said the thing about 80 hours per pay period.
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  • Bec21-21 First, you demonstrated to your employer that you don't know the first thing about employment law in the U.S. - exempt employs are not entitled to overtime, there are no laws saying that there are. In fact it is the opposite
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  • there is an expectation that salaried employs will on occasion be expected to work more than 40 hrs. The whole point of exempt is they pay you to get the job done, whatever it takes, and not for a set number of hours.
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  • Second, you demonstrated that you are ready to rock the boat and quote "employment law" at them. No employer is looking for that.
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  • tripadeliclove I think when you start a new job you shouldn't start fighting them on stuff like that. They probably thought you were going to be a problem employee. Sometimes being salaried means you'll work over 40
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  • hours a week. A good employer won't take advantage of that but also a good employee will deal with it occasionally. It sounds like it wasn't a good fit, you'll find something better
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  • Front_Inspector_437 You set yourself up, my guy. Don't go quoting the law on Day 1 with the boss.
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  • Friendly-Victory 5517 By your comments, you don't actually understand how exempt status works. The way you approached it with your former employer made it clear to them you weren't a good fit. Now, I don't think your employer was being reasonable. But your confrontation definitely greased the skids for you out the door.
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  • In the current job market companies are increasingly willing to fire employees they don't feel are a great fit vecsuse they know they can easily open a position and have a flood of applications.
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  • Impossible_Link8199 You made a mistake pushing back about working more than 40 hours because it seems like you don't understand being salary. I don't disagree that this wasn't the right fit for you,
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  • but it's not a great idea to argue with managers and bring up legalities 1 week in on the job. It's a red flag. I'd cut my losses too. The only thing you weren't being unreasonable about was the appointment, but it sounds. like you might not have handled that well either.
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  • Sometimes work in a salary position comes and goes. There's busy times and not so busy times. Sometimes you're working crazy hours and a little on the weekends and sometimes you're done. at lunch and coasting. You should think about adjusting
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  • your style next time when you approach these things. Make less statements and ask more questions. Give a place of employment longer than a week to reveal themselves to you before you speak up like that. I also wouldn't recommend disclosing why you need a recurring appointment right off the bat. I believe your doctor can help set up work accommodations for appointments.
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  • fal101 Any set salary worker I've met that is not paid hourly does not get OT or have any laws stopping them from having to work over 40 hours a week including my mom who is salaried.
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  • Expensive Courage109 I'm salary, non profit. Legally they don't have to pay over 40 hrs a week or give me PTO for the "extra" time. Time worked over 40 can't be carried to be next week as it's a separate work schedule. For non salary they can't work over 40. It just sounds like it wasn't what you personally needed/wanted
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