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He gets hired at a company, asks about the lunch break, and gets fired the next day: “I don’t think you’re a good fit”

A social media post exposes aleged labor violations at a small retail chain in Washington State.

A social media post exposes aleged labor violations at a small retail chain in Washington State.
Foto: Cortesía | Google
María Dávila
Update:

What was supposed to be the start of a new job opportunity quickly turned into a labor rights complaint and a sudden dismissal — all within 24 hours. That’s the experience described by a Reddit user who claims he was fired after his first day at a company in Washington State, simply for asking how the company handled lunch break policies.

During the interview, he was informed that due to the small size of the stores — sometimes staffed by just one or two people — employees wouldn’t be able to fully step away for lunch. As compensation, they would be given a 30-minute paid break, even if they had to continue serving customers during that time. But on his first day, the situation played out very differently.

“4 hours and 15min into my 6 hour shift yesterday, when I asked my trainer how lunches were handled since it was getting close to my 5th hour, I was told that we don’t get lunches and that if I wanted a 30min break to sit down, it would have to be deducted out of my paycheck,” he explained.

Violation of state law?

Washington State labor law requires that employees be given at least a 30-minute meal break when their shift exceeds five hours, and that the break must begin between the second and fifth hour of the shift. If the break is interrupted by work duties, it must be counted as paid time.

In this case, the worker says he not only didn’t receive that legally mandated break, but was also pressured to accept even less time off.

The next day, he contacted his manager to ask for clarification. “She called me (which sucks, because I had hoped to get it in writing) to tell me that she expects us to only sit down long enough to eat which she said was about 5-15 min,” he said. According to his account, the manager reacted negatively to the request. “Okay, I don’t think you’re a good fit for this company,” she said before hanging up.

Just minutes later, he was removed from the scheduling system. “In less than 40min, I was completely removed from the schedule and could no longer see anyone else’s,” he reported.

Filing a complaint with authorities

The former employee says he has filed a formal complaint with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, citing violations of break laws and retaliation for asserting a legal right.

He also plans to request a full breakdown of his hours and the exact wages owed. He claims he worked up to 20 minutes beyond his scheduled time, performing tasks like closing the store — without knowing whether he’ll be compensated for that time. “I don’t care that it’s only a $4-5 difference for me, it’s how many years they’d have done it to others,” he stated.

The most troubling detail, he adds, is that the person who denied him the break has worked at the company for over ten years — suggesting this kind of management could have been going on for over a decade. “Companies who take advantage of employees like that and grow off of illegal business practices. I hope they get to experience the full force of the law,” he concluded in his post.

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