Employer expects unpaid overtime but won't let me leave early
Managers are demanding staff work beyond their contracted 40 hours without overtime pay, often using guilt trips and peer pressure to force unpaid help during closed-door events. However, they refuse to offer any schedule flexibility in return, forbidding employees from arriving late or logging off early to balance their time.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Employer expects unpaid overtime but won't let me leave early
- 1Logging off early or arriving late on other days to balance the hoursDid this help you?
- 2Clarifying if the contract dictates total working hours versus billable hoursDid this help you?
- 3Reporting the practice to the state labor boardDid this help you?
- 4Staying clocked in and forcing the employer to address it via emailDid this help you?
- 5Looking for a new job with ethical managementDid this help you?
- 6Pointing out the labor law violations to the bossDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“the boss is turning non customer events into "closed hours" and not mandating us to work per se but strongly "encouraging" it and 75% of people are agreeing to it making everyone look bad.”source ↗
“we are told we will be UNPAID any time the doors are closed to customers but other team events are happening.”source ↗
“this is the 4th incident of my losing work hours yet them doing something in that time that they hope/expect people to step up in to "help out"”source ↗
“i mentioned how i'm not comfortable and he said it's not mandatory but why would i want to be the only one not doing it, everyone else steps up to help and then guilting me”source ↗
“Ok management expects me to work 8:30 to 6 while the contract is only 40 hours per week”source ↗
“when I log off early or arrive late for one or two days they said its not acceptable I am not completing my 40 hours”source ↗
“ps I am not getting any overtime at all.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 6Why does working extra hard just get you more work and less pay?
- 6Boss hasn't paid me in months
- 6Should I log my actual hours worked or underreport them?
- 6Is it normal for a nonprofit to ask employees for donations?
- 2Can my employer deny overtime just because of my job title?
- 33Doing higher-level work without a pay raise