Job deducts $37 per month from an employee's paycheck for meals, even though the employee brings his lunch every day: 'I'm still at the point where $37 a month actually matters.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Sep 17, 2026 12:30 PM EDT

Do you check your paychecks for random deductions? 

You might think you're financially responsible, but are you really crossing all your Ts and dotting all your Is? Do you pay off your whole credit card at the end of the month every single time you use it? Do you refrain from buying a Gatorade on your way home from work because you know that it's not in your budget? Do you max out your Roth IRA every year, even though you'd much rather use that money to go on vacation? If you do all these things, you still might not be as financially responsible as you think. 

One essential step is to double-check that your paycheck is correct and that you're not having anything deducted that you don't want. It's normal to trust your employer to pay you properly, and if you're getting paid the same amount every month, you might not think there's any reason to double-check your paycheck. Still, you want to make sure that your company isn't ripping you off. I'm not saying you should sign up for the cheapest health insurance, because that might end up costing you more. But if your company is charging you for food you don't eat and parking you don't use, you need to get that sorted out with the payroll person. 

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  • A person is using a laptop and eating pasta salad
    via Karolina Grabowska (Unsplash+)

    An employee is eating a lunch he brought from home while working in the office. 

    Scene shown is a visual representation.

  • I found a random deduction on my paycheck that has been taking money for almost a year

    I was looking at my paystub because my check seemed a little lower than I expected and noticed a $18.50 deduction labeled "employee meals."
    via u/Other-Coach-7524
  • I bring my lunch basically every day so I asked payroll what it was. Turns out when I started the job I got automatically enrolled in some cafeteria program during orientation. I vaguely remember signing a bunch of forms but I
    via u/Other-Coach-7524
  • definitely did not realize I was agreeing to pay for it every paycheck. Payroll said I could opt out and apparently could have done that the entire time. They wouldn't refund everything, but they did refund the last 3
    via u/Other-Coach-7524
  • months which was a nice surprise. I have a little money saved but I'm still at the point where $37 a month actually matters, so finding out I'd been throwing that away for almost a year hurt lol.
    via u/Other-Coach-7524
  • Anyway check the boring little deductions on your paystub. I always looked at the final number and never really paid attention to the stuff in between.
    via u/Other-Coach-7524
  • A woman sitting at a table with a pen and paper
    via Timur Shakerzianov

    A woman checks the deductions on her pay stub to see whether she was opted into something she didn't want to pay for. 

    Licensed media provided as editorial context.

  • i_tell_you_what So my company has a mandatory hospital indemnity deduction of like $7.50 a paycheck. I called about it and can't opt out. I ended up in the hospital and had open heart surry this past April. Got my bill a month later. $450,000. My portion was $2 grand. Looked into that hospital indemnity program. The cut me a check for 2 grand! Always look at those deductions. Best money I never spent.
    via u/i_tell_you_what
  • Sunshine-Grace11 I intentionally signed up for hospital indemnity knowing I was going to have a child this year, therefore be admitted. To my surprise, they paid out for all days I was admitted, AND for my new child! Double the payout for only paying one premium!
    via u/Sunshine-Grace11
  • pumpboy $18.50 will get you lunch 5 days a week? I thinks thats a good deal
    via u/pumpboy
  • yellowmush Sounds like it's actually lunch for 10 days. Really good deal.
    via u/yellowmush
  • pumpboy Thats right if it's $18.50 per pay check which is even better. I'd keep paying and not worry about cooking
    via u/pumpboy
  • MarmaladeMarmaduke Yeah, assuming it's not a bologna on white every day if definitely opt in and get a meal. My last good job gave you a free meal every day and it was actually mostly very good stuff.
    via u/MarmaladeMarmaduke
  • Spectra_Butane Someone in the department that I got hired to signed me up for parking permit to be deducted from my check each month. I don't own a car. I borrowed a car to go to orientation for the first four days that required me to arrive outside my scheduled hours, but from the first regular day, I rode my bike all the way there and back again. Found out in month three by catching the payroll deduction. And they refused to refund me, telling me I should have canceled it. IT being the Parking
    via u/Spectra_Butane
  • Cars parked in parking lot
    via Michael Fousert

    An office parking lot, which requires employees to pay to use during the workday. 

    Image depicted solely for explanatory purposes.

  • process After payroll and HR were useless, I sicced the auditor on them. Turns out they broken their own policies, and had to refund the $50 they'd taken from me. Maybe, OP, you can find out who audits the different departments of your company to make sure they are following their own rules, and see if they can at least hear your story, and see if they shouldn't be opting people into payroll deductions during onboarding chaos.
    via u/Spectra_Butane
  • maryel77 One of the things that my husband was offered at his last job was life insurance. It was some tiny figure, I think 1.5 times his salary was included as a benefit and then he could buy up to 5 years worth for about 10 or 20 bucks a month. We slowly increased that as our budget could support it, because we've got two kids. Neither of us had any clue that he would suffer a sudden cardiac arrest when he was 50. I was so grateful that we had gotten the extra coverage because it meant I had t
    via u/maryel77
  • Brave Squirrel4380 Are you misunderstanding a Cafeteria Plan (healthcare related) vs a cafeteria plan (food related)?
    via u/Brave_Squirrel4380

    A Cafeteria Plan is a program that offers employees pre-tax benefits. An employer can agree to offer a Cafeteria Plan, and employees can choose from the available benefits, including retirement, insurance, or contributions for life events. From there, employees pay their premiums through payroll deductions, which reduce their annual taxable income. 

    It's possible the employee in this story mistook a Cafeteria Plan for a meal plan, but we don't know for certain. 

  • RunJumpSleep This makes more sense because how did OP not notice that his job was providing some workers with lunches?
    via u/RunJumpSleep

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cafeteria workplace-stories deduction job work lunch workplace paycheck food money
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