Restaurant Server Says He Wasn't Allowed A Single Break During A 9-Hour Shift — 'I'm Not Very Excited Working Here After Day One'
He's expected to be working throughout his entire shift without being given a chance to catch his breath or eat a meal.
SeventyFour | Shutterstock A restaurant server expressed his frustration with the way management at his new job treats the other members of staff, especially when it comes to being allowed to take breaks.
In a TikTok video, Cade Alex, a server at a steakhouse, admitted that he had just finished his first day on the job and was already dreading having to go back because of how exhausting his experience had been.
He wasn't allowed a single break during a 9-hour shift.
"After day one, I've learned a lot about the food industry, and I need someone to let me know if this is legal," Alex demanded. He explained that while working at a non-disclosed steakhouse in Illinois, his managers didn't allow him or any of the other servers to take breaks or get food.
While sitting in his car after his shift, Alex said that he'd worked a total of nine hours that day from 3 p.m. to midnight. During that shift, he was forbidden from taking a break, whether that meant going to the bathroom or just taking a breather, and he wasn't allowed to eat either.
Covering the name of the steakhouse because he didn't want his video to get him fired, Alex also explained that he wasn't allowed to bring in food from outside or eat the restaurant's food.
"When I worked at Target, they told me if you work four hours, you get a 15-minute break. If you work eight hours, you get a 30-minute break by the state of Illinois law," Alex said, pointing out that he was still living in Illinois. "The rules don't apply to the steakhouse that I work at."
Despite the rules at the steakhouse, Alex is right about the state law. Illinois employers must provide a meal break to employees who work at least seven and a half continuous hours. This break must be at least 20 minutes long, and it must start no later than five hours after the beginning of the shift.
Alex recalled that at previous jobs, even if he verbally told his managers that he wasn't going to take a break, they would force him to because it was the law.
However, at the steakhouse, it's a completely different story. Servers are not even allowed to taste the food made in the kitchen, despite working 9 to 10-hour shifts.
"I'm not very excited working here after day one. I'm scheduled from 3 to 10 every night, and the boss comes up to me, and he's like, 'Sorry, Cade. In restaurant lingo, that means 3 until you're done.' When you clean the kitchen, scrub the floor, scrub the drains, wash the boards and the trays, and do all the janitor work that you did not sign up for, for $8.40 an hour."
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Just because a restaurant server job isn't as appealing as a corporate job to some people doesn't mean that they should be treated poorly.
For the sake of a person's sanity, they should be allowed at least 15 minutes to eat and refuel, especially during a shift as long as Alex is working.
'This is a job, not prison. Is this legal?' Alex incredulously questioned.
Alex demanded to know if this was something that restaurants were allowed to do, and according to Illinois law, it isn't. However, it is standard practice in restaurants, which is what other servers informed him in the comments section.
Others encouraged him to file a complaint with the Department of Labor, which would then investigate to see if any laws were being broken.
This wouldn't impact Alex's job because it is free and confidential. Unfortunately, Alex explained that this wasn't the only questionable thing that the steakhouse was doing to its servers.
"I know this steakhouse is very high-end, and they care very much about their image, but it's kind of to the point where they treat us like we're garbage," he continued. "So, day one is not exactly what I signed up for."
Alex claimed that he couldn't quit even if he wanted to because he's only going to be working there for a few months until he heads off to grad school, but for the time being, it's not the best place for his mental well-being.
No person should be subjected to treatment like this in a job, no matter what the job position entails. It's incredibly disrespectful and appalling that restaurant servers are being treated as if they don't matter just because they work in the food service industry.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.