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Changing workplace rules can backfire spectacularly when a new manager values personal control more than customers, employees, or labor laws.

In this IT department, necessary overtime kept medical clinics running until one supervisor decided every extra minute required his approval.

That policy became especially messy when he authorized four late hours, then tried paying the employee for only one.

Let’s see how strictly OP followed the new rules.

I know I authorized overtime, and you worked four hours of it, but I’m only approving ONE.

Last job I had was an overall mess but the particular manager I had wanted to try and introduce more structure/rules to the place.

He’d moved here from out of state, had a long resume of help desk/IT supervisory experience, and at first seemed like a decent, skilled guy.

Overtime can be very important for employees.

Then, came the overtime policy.

Previously, overtime was allowed without needing approval because sometimes calls run long, as long as it wasn’t excessive.

This seems like a very reasonable policy.

Excessive meant more than 5 hours and even then all you had to do was explain what took so long and management was happy to approve it because sometimes tech stuff gets messy and takes awhile.

The previous manager never had any issues approving it, and the CIO never had any issues approving that approval.

This is terrible customer service.

One of the new manager’s changes was that all overtime had to be approved, and if it wasn’t approved (spoiler: it was rarely approved) it meant telling a customer you had to cut a support call short when your shift was over.

Terrible idea but, okay pal, I’ll help you dig that grave for yourself.

Fixing this bug will take a while.

I ended up getting a call about an hour before my shift ended and it was a call that was a bug in OUR software that was fixed by a particular windows update; the clinic closed at 5:30, and the office manager asked us to do it after hours.

I talk to the manager, he gives me written authorization to work late and get windows updates run on 30 some computers.

I do that, and it takes roughly 4 hours as the clinic’s internet connection started to bottom out if I had more than 4-5 remote sessions going at one time.

So far so good.

No big deal, I get it done, submit my time punch for that day, and think nothing of it.

He calls me in the next morning with, “I can’t approve this much overtime! CIO would never authorize it!”

Good thing he got it in writing.

I remind him he authorized overtime for this and that he knew it was one of the larger clinics.

He says, “Well you should have just started some, clocked out, checked on them, then clocked back in when others were ready, you didn’t need to babysit them! I’ll authorize ONE hour.”

This is not going to go well for the manager.

I explain to him that that’s a stupid idea and also that it’s not legal to pay me for time worked when he authorized that time and I have it in writing, he says he doesn’t care and I’m only getting one hour of overtime authorized.

“Fine. From now on, I will clock in exactly at 8am and out at 5pm.”

The manager is going to regret this.

He snaps a, “Good, that’s the policy!” at me and I leave.

Instead of reporting him to the CIO, who I was on friendly terms with, right away, I spent a few weeks collecting things like really angry doctors and clinic staff and every time they got understandably angry that I was dropping a call when the issue wasn’t resolved.

He is handling this professionally.

I’d apologize and tell them it was my Manager’s fault, as it was a policy he implemented and not only is it illegal for me to keep working without the company paying me (as I was an hourly employee) I flat out wasn’t going to work for free.

I suggested they e-mail the CIO and Cc the manager on it, telling them exactly what they thought of the new policy and how it affected their practice and their patients’ opinion of the clinic.

The CIO is not going to like this.

About a week later the CIO paid a surprise visit and wanted to speak to me.

He asked me what on earth was going on, he was getting all these angry emails from clinic sites saying the techs were dropping calls immediately at 5pm CST regardless of what time it was at the clinic or if the issue was fixed or not and they all said the same thing about it being Manager’s policy.

I explained the policy to the CIO, also told him about the overtime incident, and he just. LOST IT.

I almost feel bad for the manager.

Got up, opened the door to the empty office he was using, and YELLED across the whole IT floor for the manager in question to get in here right now.

I can only imagine how that conversation went, I’d bet the manager was either fired or changed that policy immediately.

Take a look at what the people in the comments have to say about it.

Right! It isn’t their money!

So many companies run like this.

Trying to look good, but actually looking bad.

I can see why the customers were so upset.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a customer who can’t seem to come to grips with the fact that her reward points will not cover a purchase.

This person says trying to control time like this is foolish.

OP began clocking out precisely at 5 p.m. and directed every furious clinic employee to email the CIO about the manager’s restrictive policy.

After discovering the unpaid authorized work, the CIO forced a public apology, revoked the policy, and watched the manager resign before getting fired.

He tried eliminating three overtime hours and accidentally scheduled an all-hands performance review starring himself as the cautionary example.