‘Are you allowed to do that?’: Worker takes 1-hour lunch break, clocks back in after 20 minutes so she can get paid more
In the United States, it’s fairly common to be required to clock out for one’s lunch break.
However, this can cause issues. While a salaried employee may enjoy the comfort of being paid during their break time, for those who are working hourly, being forced to take a lunch break means less time spent working—and thus, less pay.
That desire for extra cash may be one of the reasons why some people game the hourly pay system, as TikTok user Ava Rose (@ava_rose02).
In a video with over 280,000 views as of Friday, Ava Rose writes, “1 hour for lunch but I take 10-20 minutes bc my boss doesn’t pay me enough.”
In the caption, she adds, “The joys of life :)”
@ava_rose02 the joys of life :)
♬ Get Fn Wrecked - ᴀʟɪɢᴀᴛᴜʀʀ
It’s a little unclear what exactly Ava Rose means by this. Some users in the comments believed that she meant she took an hour-long lunch but only clocked out for 10 to 20 minutes, meaning she received an extra 40 to 50 minutes of payment without actually working. The creator herself liked the comment speculating about this.
However, others believed that Ava Rose’s job allocated her an hour for lunch, but she opted to only take 10 to 20 minutes so she could maximize the amount of time on the clock.
Regardless of Ava Rose’s intent, users in comments shared their own stories of working with unpaid lunch breaks.
“Not me allegedly clocking back in one minute into my lunch so the system would accept it because my coworker got away with it,” a user wrote.
“Me clocking for a 15-minute break but staying out for the whole 30 mins so I don’t lose money,” added another.
“Are you allowed to do that?” a third user asked. “I got in sh*t for that at my old job.”
Others simply warned users to be careful engaging in this behavior.
“Double check your stubs that you’re actually getting paid for that hour,” advised a commenter. “Most employers will just subtract it from you even if worked.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Ava Rose via Instagram direct message.
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