For many workers, a long commute can feel like unpaid labor – especially in New York City where bumper-to-bumper traffic is a given.

When one worker’s company denied their overtime request, they found a clever way to get them to change their tune.

Read on for the full story!

Yes I can stop at the warehouse on the way in

A decade ago, I had a job in NYC that required me to drive from place to place fixing various equipment.

The company provided a vehicle stocked with hardware, tools, and spare parts to fix small problems.

This job required making a lot of stops.

For larger issues, we would need to stop and pick up equipment at the warehouse, which happened to be near where I lived.

We would also stop at the warehouse a few times a week to restock our vehicles as needed.

Clock-in was at 8 a.m., usually at the first customer.

But big city traffic slowed everything down.

Traffic was horrible, and if I left after 6:55 a.m. (a 30-45 minute drive before 7 a.m., 1.5-2.5 hours after 7 a.m.), I was late.

The later I left, the more traffic compounded.

It was starting to really cut into their day – and their paycheck.

Often, I would stop at the warehouse to pick up parts that were ordered and clock in the extra 15-20 minutes.

I requested to be paid for some of the commute time due to the increased traffic after 7 a.m., but this was denied.

But then they discovered a convenient loophole.

Then I found out that, legally, I was paid after my first stop regardless of what the company said.

Not only did I start clocking in at 8 a.m. at the warehouse, but I also stopped there every day for one reason or another.

The company then started to change its tune.

“I’m not late — I’m at the warehouse!” they changed their tune and started paying for my time in traffic.

I went back to my 6:45 a.m. warehouse stop and tallied the overtime every day for the remainder of my time there.

Asking for extra benefits is often an uphill battle, but this employee made it work in their favor!

What did Reddit have to say?

There was one key thing that made this employee’s malicious compliance scheme so effective.

This commenter loves seeing the little guy win for once.

It takes some real strategizing to beat a company at their own game.

This situation was a masterclass on how to steer a bad situation to your advantage.

It just goes to show that you should never underestimate your employees.

Thought that was satisfying? Check out what this employee did when their manager refused to pay for their time while they were traveling for business.