(Article updated on April 27 at 04:15 p.m. CET with an analysis of the company's rule by employment and labor law attorney Phil Horowitz.)
A company has been under fire after a woman exposed its questionable policy regarding late employees.
Those who arrive late to the office due to traffic jams, family issues, or unreliable alarms often make up for that lost time by staying longer at the end of their shifts. If they clock in 30 minutes late because their alarm didn't go off, they stay for an extra half-hour. Of course, this will depend on each company's culture.
Highlights
- A company has enforced a policy requiring employees work 10 extra minutes for every minute they're late.
- Critics argue that the policy, as it stands, constitutes a violation of labor laws.
- Some speculate the harsh rule could inadvertently increase company overtime costs.
However, It's fair to state that the approach taken by this business is anything but conventional.
TikTok user Callie, known as @_cal_cife, shared a photo of a paper notice of the "New office rule," which read, "For every minute you are late for work, you will be required to work for 10 minutes after 6 p.m. For example, if you arrive at 10:02, you will have to stay an extra 20 minutes until 6:20 p.m."
The note from the unnamed company concludes with a gesture of appreciation toward the "understanding" workers: "Thanks."
Image credits: _cal_cifer
"I don't know what you're thanking me for because I would literally never do that," Callie told her 306k followers.
Outraged by the controversial rule, the content creator went on a rant about the company's nonsensical reasoning for time compensation.
"First off, how do you equate a minute to 10 minutes?
"Like the policy would be insane enough as [is] if it was one minute for one minute, but the fact that you're saying for every individual minute that you are late, you have to work ten extra minutes? [That] makes this absolutely insane."
"I guarantee that no member of management is ever going to be in accordance with this rule," TikToker @_cal_cife said
Then, Callie expressed her skepticism regarding the policy's equal application to both executives and lower-ranking employees.
"I guarantee that no member of management is ever going to be in accordance with this rule," she stated.
"If my shift is 10 to 6, and I show up at 10:02, I'm still leaving at 6. Maybe the absolute latest I would leave would be 6:02."
Additionally, she questioned whether employees would receive overtime pay for arriving a few minutes late.
"Is this company completely comfortable with paying all of this sudden overtime because they're forcing employees to stay 20, 30, 40 minutes over? Because they were four minutes late for work? We'll see how long this lasts."
People were quick to question whether employees would receive overtime pay for arriving a few minutes late
Image credits: Freepik
The rule raised eyebrows on social media, with one user commenting, "It's awesome when labor law violations are posted in writing."
"If they aren't paying OT, I'm not staying. This is a JOB, not grade school," another person wrote, while somebody else said, "I'd be 5 mins late every day and rake in that OT. They'd change that policy real quick."
"Sounds like an easy way to get overtime to me," a separate individual chimed in.
Meanwhile, others found a way to exploit the policy to their advantage—not to earn extra money but to work less.
"Easy fight. I show up 3 minutes early and leave 30 minutes early," a TikTok user said.
Another added, "So, then it works both ways, right? If I start 15 minutes early, I get to leave 2.5 hours (150 minutes) early, right?"
"Is this company completely comfortable with paying all of this sudden overtime because they're forcing employees to stay 20, 30, 40 minutes over?" Cal asked
Image credits: Freepik
Image credits: Freepik
Bored Panda spoke with employment and labor law attorney Phil Horowitz to shed light on the unnamed company’s rule.
Horowitz, who has been representing employees for over 40 years, served as Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of California—now part of the California Lawyers Association—and as Chair of the California Employment Lawyers Association, the California bar association for employee-side lawyers.
“It is absolutely against federal law for employers to require hourly employees to work extra time without pay for arriving late to work,” Horowitz explained via email.
“An employer could require an hourly employee who arrives one minute late to work an extra minute at the end of their shift,” he suggested.
Alternatively, “an employer could require an hourly employee who arrives one minute late to work to work 10 extra minutes at the end of their shift if they pay them for the extra 9 minutes.”
However, “requiring hourly employees to work extra time without pay is a form of wage theft,” he emphasized.
In addition to failing to pay overtime, other examples of wage theft include being paid less than the minimum wage per hour, not receiving final wages in a timely manner, misclassification of employees as independent contractors, and violation of meal break laws.
Employers must ensure that their overtime practices meet the requirements of both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state wage laws. If they violate overtime pay laws, they can be sued by their workers and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division to recover back pay, court costs, and attorney's fees.
"Easy fight. I show up 3 minutes early and leave 30 minutes early," a TikTok user joked
