In general, when you have a job, your paycheck should match the hours you worked.

That’s what this shift supervisor expected until a recent paycheck came up short.

The boss had already warned employees that anyone working more than 7.5 hours would automatically lose 30 minutes of pay if they didn’t clock out for a break.

But the problem was that the restaurant stayed so busy and short-staffed that employees often skipped those breaks just to keep everything running.

Then this supervisor compared the time clock records to the paycheck and discovered exactly where the missing time had gone.

Read on to see what happened next.

Boss is deleting not-taken breaks from my paycheck and I have proof

I work at a food service establishment in Connecticut. Employers are required to provide a 30-minute break after working 7.5 hours (whether paid or unpaid is up to the employer).

A few weeks ago, my boss put a long printed list of complaints about things employees do/don’t do on our “staff bulletin,” which included saying that for any shift that is 7.5 hours or more, if the employee does not clock out on our time clock for 30 minutes, those 30 minutes will be deducted from their timecard when payroll is processed.

I have pictures of this notice, as well as the initials that us employees were “required” to sign at the end of it, which is kind of weird for my boss to post because I’m pretty sure deleting hours from paystubs is illegal.

Her most recent paycheck was shorted.

Mind you, there is NO mechanism in place to actually hold my boss accountable to verify whether each employee in this situation actually took a 30-minute break or not.

Our job is very hectic, and while breaks are required to be provided, not all employees take them and instead waive them to keep up with orders.

I am a shift supervisor, and my boss intentionally has shifts short-staffed. I am pulled in a thousand directions at any given moment, and some days I truly do not get the chance to take a 30-minute break, which I acknowledge I am waiving, because the business will fall apart and unravel depending on who else is on the shift.

Our paystubs just came out today, and I have been shorted 1.5 hours.

And the worst part is that she doesn’t even take breaks.

I know this for a fact because I also have pictures that I take at the end of every shift of our time clock, and I have tallied up the totals from the pictures for this pay period versus what is on my timecard.

Also keep in mind, there has been NO communication from my boss or on my paystub, etc., that 1.5 hours have been deleted due to “not punching out for breaks.”

But again, these breaks were not taken to begin with. I’m not really looking to burn a bridge with my boss, as I have been working here for a decade and the pay is generally pretty good, but this whole situation seems sketchy and probably illegal.

If there is any advice on how to proceed or approach my boss about this (or even malicious compliance ideas), it would be much appreciated.

Wow! It does sound like that should be illegal.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who just let clients complain after her boss refused to approve overtime.

Let’s see what thoughts the people over at Reddit have on this topic.

According to this comment, it’s legal.

For this reader, it sounds like wage theft.

Here’s someone who suggests she just take her lunch.

This reader thinks she needs to report it.

This boss can’t have it both ways.

If employees are expected to work through their breaks because the restaurant is short-staffed, then they need to be paid for that time. You don’t get to keep people working and then erase those hours from the paycheck afterward.

Fortunately, this supervisor did exactly what everyone should do in a situation like this and kept records.

Those photos may end up being the difference between proving what happened and having nothing but one person’s word against another’s.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who rejects a low contract offer and leaves the company instead.