Woman's Job Wouldn't Let Her Take Her Lunch Break at the End of Her Shift so She Quit
Published Aug. 3 2023, 4:22 p.m. ET
Working to make a living isn’t ideal. Nevertheless, we persist.
Clocking in for eight hours every day can seem tedious. This is especially true about midway through the day. But if your job has any humanity at all, you’ll be relieved for a lunch break at some point.
During that break, you can do whatever tickles your fancy; whether it’s scrolling TikTok, taking a nap, or a trip to Taco Bell — the opportunities are endless. However, one TikTok user takes her breaks a little differently than everyone else, and she just might be on to something.
Instead of taking her break halfway through her shift, @nocontextyagass liked to take her 30-minute break at the end of her shift so that she would get off early. Her bosses didn’t like that idea, so she quit and got another job.
This woman quit her job because they didn’t let her take her break at the end of her shift.
In a viral video, @nocontextyagass explained the moment she knew she was done being an employee.
“I got hired at a job. And then three weeks later, they told me I couldn't take a break at 2:30 when my shift is over at 3:00 because you can't take a break 30 minutes before your shift is over,” the TikToker shared.
She added: “But it wasn't in the rules anywhere. I just couldn't do it because nobody else thought of the idea before I had said it. And it wasn't fair, even though it's not on the rules.”
Two days later, she went on to apply and interview for another gig and was hired on the spot.
“I texted my manager at the job that I had had for three weeks and asked her if I could use her as a reference for this new job that I'm applying for, even though I already got it,” @nocontextyagass went on. “Just to let her know — b----, that was your last strike.”
Woman who quit her job and got fired from her new one: “Never let 'em know your next move …”
Sadly, @nocontextyagass’s new job didn’t last long for her either! Although she managed to get away with being late to her new job by blaming her old job, she eventually got fired anyway after missing work to vacation.
“Never let em know your next move, love that for you,” a TikToker stanned in the comment section.
And that’s the story of how @nocontextyagass became an entrepreneur. But she isn’t the only person who’s been pushed to the edge by lunch break laws. In fact, plenty of other users on TikTok empathized with @nocontextyagass.
One commenter wrote: “Yeah I used to clock out 30 minutes early instead of taking a 30-minute break either way I’m not getting paid for it so …”
“LOL, I did the same thing when I started my job. We could take our lunch (one-hour break) at any time so I waited the last hour of my shift to take it,” someone else chimed in.
“[I've] been doing this I just don’t ever tell them,” @naika_harie added. “I walk back in at 3:00, clock out, and leave.”
Are people allowed to take breaks at the end of their shift or not? Breaking down lunch break law.
Because mandated lunch breaks aren’t enforced federally (per the U.S. Department of Labor), each state has its own way of implementing lunch break laws. Given this information, it’s pretty much up to each company to decide their own rules about time off, as long as it's within state guidelines.
