There’s a big difference between being late on accident and being late on purpose, and that difference should count for something.

One model employee who had never been disciplined for tardiness got stuck on a freeway that police had blocked off, forcing drivers to funnel through a single exit.

She documented every step with timestamps and kept her manager in the loop, and he was running behind, too. By the time she got to the store and clocked in, it was long past opening time.

Nothing came of it that day or the next. But a few days later, her boss gave her a formal write-up, skipping the verbal warning altogether.

Now she’s wondering why she even bothered to come in at all.

Read on for the full story.

I was stuck in traffic because of an accident for 2 hours, was late to open the store with time stamped communication. Got slapped with a write up today.

A couple of days ago, I was scheduled to open, getting there at 8:45. I leave the house at 8:16, and everything is fine until everything starts slowing waaaaay down a couple of miles from my exit.

I’m crawling in traffic and realize people are U-turning on the freeway and exiting via the on-ramp. I also realize it’s 8:45, and I should be at work by now.

So the employee tries to get ahead of the issue the best she can.

I take pictures of the situation and send them to my work chat, saying I’m not sure if I will get to the store on time.

It takes me 40 minutes to go 2 miles because the cops blocked the entire freeway and were funneling people off at that exit.

To her credit, she kept her employer in the loop the whole time.

The entire time, I’m sending pictures and videos, and I even specifically told my manager I would not make it to open the store on time.

He lets me know he is on the way to the store but would also be late to open.

When she finally got to work, things seemed pretty much normal.

I finally get to the store and clock in at 10:15, an hour and a half late to my shift and an hour and 15 minutes past opening time. Nothing was said to me that day or on Monday.

I have never received any disciplinary action for tardiness or opening the store late.

But then it happened.

Today, I was given a write-up for opening the store late on Saturday. No verbal warning, no conversation, nothing.

For something that was unforeseen, out of my control, and documented with timestamps. I sat in bumper-to-bumper parking lot traffic for 2 hours, still went to my shift, and was written up.

She knows she put the store in a difficult position, but she still feels like she deserves a little more grace.

I understand that regardless of circumstance, the store was not open on time. That is a fact. However, this should have been a verbal warning at the absolute most.

It’s not like I overslept or was a no-call, no-show.

She thinks her boss is getting it all wrong.

Then I would understand the write-up, because it would be me being held accountable. But there’s no accountability to be held here. I’m just being punished.

I could’ve abandoned the shift completely, enjoyed my Saturday, and gotten the same consequence.

If I’m gonna get punished for showing up, I’m gonna stop showing up. 🤷‍♀️

She makes a good point.

What did Reddit have to say?

Sometimes circumstances are just out of your control.

A fellow manager chimes in with their side of the story.

A warning wasn’t warranted here, at least as far as this user is concerned.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who can’t complete her work-from-home duties because her mom’s houseguest won’t stop talking.

HR isn’t there to make friends.

This employee did everything a manager could ask of someone stuck in a mess she didn’t make. She sent photos, shared timestamps, and warned her boss before the store was supposed to open.

A write-up on this scale, with no verbal warning, tells you the company cares more about the paperwork than the person. Her frustration makes sense, since showing up through two hours of gridlock earned her the exact same punishment as a no-call, no-show.

You can’t discipline traffic.