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sugabeetus t1_iubltv0 wrote

I got fired once because I told a supervisor she wasn't allowed to deny me my legal break (it started as a misunderstanding; I thought I was closing and had to work for a few more hours, I had been working at least 6 hours and finally had a chance to grab a bite to eat, but it turned out I wasn't closing and only had about 10 minutes more of work after that, but by the time she told me I'd been on break for 5 minutes and was halfway through my food, so I said I'd just finish up my 10, do my end of shift stuff and go, she insisted I get up immediately and I said that's illegal). Unknown to me, she called one of the managers that night to complain about me. I showed up for my next shift and the manager pulled me into the tiny office, stood over me yelling and swearing (about the weirdest unrelated stuff, too, like he heard I had said I didn't like his cousin that he'd hired??) because he'd been bothered at home on his night off about it. Like I was the one who called him. After a few minutes I calmly said, "I am not going to be yelled at," and left the office. He fired me on the spot. I went home and the first thing I did was type up the entire situation, I didn't even know why. Just to get it out. That was lucky because when I filed for UI, he lied to them and said I was fired for "insubordination" so I printed out my statement and sent it in. I also sent it to the state labor board, in case they wanted to look into the break policy there. I never heard about that but I did get my unemployment. The letter actually said something like, "we have determined that the employer's claim was false." I don't know if they were trying to make a point or if that was just the usual language.

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vatizdisiz t1_iuda7gr wrote

This is why difficult situations should always by followed by journaling, first reason is to help you process the emotions. 2nd reason is this!

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marqui4me OP t1_iudcfyg wrote

This is what I told my wife. I've been thrown under the bus plenty of times, so I go ahead and document things I feel uneasy about or that may come back to bite me in the ass.

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Tacos_truck t1_iudmbye wrote

What did she do originally that was illegal?

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PossibleHipster t1_iuduos3 wrote

It's in the 1st sentence?

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Tacos_truck t1_iuduxac wrote

That OP took a break they weren’t legally required to get because they were working a short shift?

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PossibleHipster t1_iudv368 wrote

Like they said, they thought they were closing. They didn't know they were on a short shift...

Also depending on the state they could still have a legally required break for the number of hours they worked.

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Tacos_truck t1_iudvfwz wrote

So OP goofed and rather than just accept it and wrap half their sandwich back up, jumped immediately to telling their supervisor they were breaking the law

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PossibleHipster t1_iudvryu wrote

Depending on what state they are in they can still have a legally required break that they were denied. E.g. California.

But like, maybe you should go read their post again because it sounds like you clearly didn't understand parts of it.

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Tacos_truck t1_iudwbio wrote

I understand it, it’s just more of the same “management always bad, workers never wrong” on Reddit. Taking even some accountability goes a long way

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PossibleHipster t1_iudxkvs wrote

I'm not sure why you are hellbent on assuming they were not legally required to get a break. There are a ton of state laws that require breaks.

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sugabeetus t1_iuemwtw wrote

It's not. She was wrong. He was wrong. I was right.

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sugabeetus t1_iuemn9v wrote

I didn't goof, she was wrong, and I only pointed out the law after a few minutes of polite (on my side at least) talking.

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sugabeetus t1_iuemf85 wrote

I had already worked the 6 hours minimum to require me to take a 10. I was very aware of the law because the upper management had been getting very strict about making sure employees were taking their state-mandated breaks. I was actually trying to help her not get in trouble at first.

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