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When it comes to paid time off, the United States is notorious for being a "no-vacation nation". Only 10 days of paid leave — that's what the average worker in the private sector receives a year, and it’s far less than in most advanced economies. But sadly, having the opportunity to take a deserved break does not automatically lead to people using it.

Sometimes employees feel guilty about leaving their projects behind, other times they fear losing coworkers’ respect. But when it's a shameless boss who denies their well-reasoned request, it's a whole other story. A few days ago, Redditor spr_t shared a screenshot of a conversation with their manager informing them about feeling ill. As it turns out, even a doctor’s note has little effect on a supervisor who believes typing out a text means you’re not sick enough to skip work.

"I lost my job of 3 years because of this," the user wrote and inspired others to chime in with their own experiences. Bored Panda has collected some of the most surprising replies from the thread, so be sure to read them right below. And if you have any similar stories to share, tell us all about them in the comments.

Recently, a worker shared a conversation with their manager on the AntiWork subreddit revealing how they were fired for taking time off

Their post inspired some Redditors to chime in with similar experiences

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BlackestDawn
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Good that someone knew how to handle that properly, and didn't blame you for being there.

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Nirdavo
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What the OP's boss did would be plainly illegal here in Germany. Both demanding that he find his own replacement (this is the boss's job!) and firing him for calling in sick.

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We managed to get in touch with user spr_t who was kind enough to have a little chat with us. They revealed they got the idea to share this conversation after posting it on OSHA: "Someone messaged me and recommended I post it [on Anti Work]." They did not expect this thread to get as much engagement as it did but appreciate the support. As of today, the screenshot has collected over 60.2K upvotes and more than 4K comments where people shared their own stories and opinions about this situation. 

"I believe that the post gained so much attention and support because a lot of people have faced similar experiences. America’s labor laws have come a long way but still, there are many loopholes varying from state to state. In my state (Texas), it is legal to fire someone after providing a work note," they said.

When asked how they are feeling about this whole incident, spr_t told Bored Panda they realized there isn’t much they can do. "Some of the anger and hatred I had towards the subject has subsided and now I’m just looking for a new job which isn’t as easy as it seems," the user revealed. "In life, people have to realize that no matter how much work and time you put into something (especially jobs), it’s never certain or secured," they added.

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UnpopularPanda
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

March 2020, I was sick af and wasn't able to work even remotely. Had already seen a doc and was suggested to take rest. A manager (that I didn't even report to) called and forced me to go for a Covid Test which the doctor said wasn't required based on symptoms I was showing. The test result came negative and the said manager forced me to be at work because I am not really 'sick'.

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According to the "No-Vacation Nation" report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the European Union requires to give workers employed in the EU at least 20 working days of paid vacation. However, many member countries go above that number, for example, France requires at least 30 paid vacation days off, and that’s not including paid holidays. The UK mandates 28, then Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Spain all require 25, and Portugal has to provide at least 22 working days of paid vacation per year.

"The United States continues to be the only advanced economy that does not guarantee its workers paid vacation," the researchers wrote. "Without a federal paid vacation policy, close to one in four Americans have no paid vacation (23 percent) and no paid holidays (22 percent)," they added that these figures seem to be on the same level since 2013.

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James016
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's the manager's job to cover your shift, not yours and especially not a teenager

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Pete from Cali. USA
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's also the manager's fault for not keeping track of vacation requests! And even if he/she lost track and the problem was brought up, they should have resolved it like a responsible person.

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Brit tol
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I ended up in the er in the middle of the night and since my husband is in the Army and was in another state training, my 16 year old had to take me and stay with me. He was a server at the time and called out and was told that he could only miss work if someone covered his shift. Which he had to find. No one would answer his calls or return texts. I even called his manager to explain and she said the same thing to me. Kids should not be responsible for finding someone to work for them, especially when dealing with other kids.

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SweetsEve
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I went to a private highschool on a scholarship that required for me to participate in an extracurricular activity. So I tried out of a lot of things, and i made the cheerleading team. I was roughly 15 at the time and I had a little job at Chick fil a. When I was interviewed I told them I was a cheerleader and needed to go to the games. They would print the schedules pretty far in advance and I saw I was scheduled on a game day. I immediately told the manager I couldn't work that day. He told me that when you have a job sometimes you can't go to every game you want to go to. I told him I couldn't miss any games, but he didn't change the schedule and was surprised that I didn't show up. In retrospect I probably didn't explain it was a scholarship requirement but I was shy at that age. When he asked if given the choice again would I do it the same way, I was like "yeah. I think I have to quit." I still wonder why a grown man would think a 15 year old has any say I'm where they are after school. It's not like I could drive myself to work. I could only do what I was permitted to do by my parents, right?

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Fight Hypocrites
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Your parents being Boomers really has nothing to do with this. People, teen and adults, got screwed over with/without At Will statuses. It's a little acknowledged truth that all Baby Boomers didn't walk out of high school into a golden economy. Those of us at the end didn't have a very rosy picture. Everyone should be shocked when employers act abysmally. And they should be publicly shamed. That man did you a favor by tossing you out of his hell hole. I got fired from a horrible job when I was 19 and sent the b***h that did it a thank you note. And another one to the b***h that trained me incorrectly because she was mad that her friend didn't get the job in the first place. I hope all 3 of them stayed there for 30+ years.

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Norell Weiner
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes it is the managers job to cover shifts and find replacements, but it has become the new "normal" to demand the worker (no matter the severity of the injury or illness) find their replacement, work or be terminated. Not even remotely legal in most cases when documented by a Dr. It's just amazing and horrifying how far this nation is sliding down a rabbit hole of deciding that the very backbone of our commerce is nothing more than conscripted workers that can be used, abused and summarily terminated because we didn't or couldn't slit our wrists for their greed.

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David Mitchell
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had a job as an auto mechanic and was a volunteer fire fighter. I asked for a particular half day off well in advance and was approved. That day came and I reminded my manager that morning that I'd be off that afternoon. He told me I had to work because they had to many jobs. I said I was taking the afternoon off as previously scheduled. He said if I left I was fired. I left. The next day I was told to get my things and leave. I went straight to the unemployment office and filed. The company tried to dispute the unemployment. I said I was promised that afternoon off in advance and I had a signed notice. They said they were too busy for me to take off. That I was warned that I would be fired and left anyway. They lost and I applied for jobs I didn't qualify for to draw my unemployment till I decided, 4 weeks later to get another job. Great 1 month vacation.

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Kowen3415
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel like some companies do this on purpose and turn their backs on employees just so they think they have a reason to fire them

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Cosmic Toast
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was a worker at domino's (call center), I had the same issue. I asked for a day off months ahead but yet again the supervisor called me to ask me to fill in on that day. I politely said "no, I need this day, this is why I stated it months ahead" and he had the audacity to tell me "C'mon, you can have any other day you want, do it for the team". Again, I responded with "no, I can't do it on that day" and he kept on pushing me so I yelled my mind to him. Got a warning not to yell to my "boss" and on the next day at work, I told them, I had enough of this and gave in my notice. Then took sick leave and adios. Know your grounds and your rights. Nobody can obligate you to work if they agreed that you can take a paid leave and it's on paper!

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Ashley Broening
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I worked at a movie theatre, I was scheduled to work the day of my bridal shower, even though I had told them about it by reporting it to all the right channels, getting it approved, etc, 3 whole months ahead of time. Apparently the live action lion king movie was more important than the approved time off for my bridal shower.

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Leslie Brady
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was newly 21, working at a dress shop in the Mall. My grandfather had a heart attack and died, needless to say I was devastated. I went to work the next day even though I was still crying and miserable. The manager sent me home. I took a couple of days for family responsibilities and his funeral, then returned to work. When my shift was over the owner fired me for taking off, said I wasn't responsible and couldn't be counted on. WTH?? So in addition to losing my beloved Pop, I got fired. It sucked.

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Ryan Smith
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was in college right after leaving the military and I was working at Hardee's part time. I felt kinda sick on Thursday morning and was scheduled to work Friday Saturday and Sunday. I went to the Doctor and tested positive for strep. I told the store manager that I wouldn't be able to make the Friday or Saturday as I had strep and had a doctors note saying was contagious until I had been on antibiotics for 48 hours. He told me that I had to find someone to cover my shift. I had been working there 3 weeks and didn't have anyone's numbers or anything so I told him yea, thats your problem not mine and hung up. I got an angry voicemail at 630 am the next day from the store manager telling me that I was a no call no show and needed to turn in my uniform. When I went back the following week to get my check I threw the uniform at him in his office and here's your s**t and left. Looking back I probably should have sued them for wrongful termination.

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Daniel Teel
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At will laws generally don't give companies as much power as they think. Yes a company can technically fire a person for any reason but if that employee decides to sue for unlawful termination then the company better have a good reason for the termination. Simply "it's at will" is almost never enough.

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Birma Gustafsson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unions would help, they're there to see to that you're not taken advantage of.

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Tarhes ~
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hated this. I worked part time at a bath products store (had another full time retail job and was a full time college student) which made people find their own coverage. I didn't work there long. I got promoted at the full time retail place and didn't want to deal with shilling raspberry bath gel anymore for four hours a week.

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S D
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was desperate and took a job in a small 5 & dime type store. I came down with norovirus (gift from daughter who worked in nursing home). When I called in I too was informed I would need to find my own replacement or work the shift. My response was: 1). The requirement of finding your own replacement should have been mentioned during the hiring process. 2) If I was healthy enough to find my own replacement I wouldn't be calling out. 3) Consider this my two week notice.

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MCMLXXIII
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My story is similar. First, I hurt my back at work. I worked for a well known gas station. The back injury ruined my life. But I had to keep working since I was a single Mum of 3. Every day it got harder, but I still pushed on. Three years later I was planning a 2 week vacation to see my family 1700 miles away. I posted it on the wall over SIX MONTHS in advance that I was taking two weeks off. The manager was always saying that I couldn't take two weeks off, which everyone else was allowed to. She implied I wouldn't have a job when I got home. Well, I went on my vacation. A week into it I get a call from the assistant manager that I was in the schedule for the following week. So I got a hold of my boss and asked her what's up? She said either I was there for my next shift, or I'm considered a no call/no show. I told her to consider that conversation my call in for the week. Told her I was suffering altitude sickness.

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MCMLXXIII
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Needless to say, I was unemployed when I returned home. I expected this was going to happen way back when I posted it six months ahead. They considered me a 'quit' so I couldn't draw unemployment. I rolled up in there when I got home, the boss pulled in next to me. She got out and said, "I hope you don't think you're getting your job back!" I said, "nope! Wouldn't want it back! The manager is a b***h!(Talking to the manager). I just need you to sign this paper for me " And that was that. Never got anything from my back injury that has me bedridden now. Nothing for working for them for 5 years and then being fired over something so petty. It's not like I asked to be paid for my vacation🙄

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Maya Riley
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had a similar problem where I had asked not to be scheduled for a two day window 9 months in advance and was told I wasn't allowed to not be at work since I wasn't a full time employee and didn't get vacation days. It was a measly 3 hour shift too

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Lisa Welch
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Try giving your job a 6-week notice that you're going to have a procedure, only to receive an email the day before the procedure "allowing" you to take the day off. Honestly, I'm ready to say F U to this job! I stand 100% of the day, work well past my scheduled hours, and I'm waiting 4 months longer than I should have for my evaluation and guaranteed bump in pay. I do not feel like a valued employee.

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Shehzadi Amal
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean.....everyone should be able to take sick and personal days without risk of losing their employment. Especially when they communicate them months in advance.

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Julie Erin Lawless
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I got fired in 1993, just before the FMLA went into effect because I needed more than the four weeks maternity leave offered, per three doctors, and my employer said come back to work now or you're gone! Happily the company went out of business a couple years later!

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JJ Mai
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My first job did that to me too. I was traveling 2 hours away for job interviews for when I moved to college in that town. I had traded shifts with someone else. I had worked the other person's shift and that morning that person called in and said they couldn't work my shift. Work called me. I said I couldn't make it in. I was already 2 hours away. My boss just hung up on me. When I came back for my next scheduled shift she told me she had to write me up as a no-call no-show. Even though she had approved the trade slip and even though I had been contacted and told her I wouldn't be in. I was so mad. I did fight with her and then handed her my 2 week notice. This boss also called my school to have me come in early for work. I wasn't answering my cell phone so she looked up my school's number and called and asked for me. The secretary was like "She has classes until 3:35." I was scheduled 4p-8:30p. When I got there my boss had already gone home, but I had a note about being available.

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Selena Rezvani, a leadership expert, speaker, and author of Pushback: How Smart Women Ask — and Stand Up — for What They Want, told Bored Panda that even though paid time off is a benefit given to many workers, workplaces often have the right to decide how that time is taken off, "for example how PTO should be requested and with how much notice."

"That means firing is actually a possibility with at-will employment, provided it’s not for an EEOC-related [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] reason. Obviously, it sets a negative precedent to police or over-restrict people’s PTO. Remember, this is a benefit that employees have an expectation that they can control — for example when they use PTO, for how long and based on their own justifications. Taking that away erodes trust and wellbeing and cultivates exactly what you don’t want — fear," Rezvani added.

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Jessica Allred
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had a stomach bug once at a call center, I had to ask the person on the phone if I could put them on hold so that I could go vomit. My manager asked me are you sure you're not pregnant? Because women can't just get the stomach flu, right?

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The leadership expert noted that when managers intimidate or threaten to fire their employees for taking time off, it can make workers feel hesitant to use their paid days at all. "The power play in using PTO is fraught with all kinds of worries: will I appear lazy or uncommitted? Will my manager think I’m not sharing the load? Will they see me as lacking in work ethic?"

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Nirdavo
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You should have said: "Well, then the shop just stays closed. Personnel management is you problem, not mine." At least, that's what we will say here in Germany.

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NsG
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I *hope* the mill manager's reaction was actually an uncharacteristic irrational response. People often don't behave in the "expected" way in stressful situations. If the manager was otherwise decent, the frustration displayed could have been their externally displayed coping mechanism. One of my managers (an otherwise amazingly generous and supportive person) heard that a coworker's sister had died unexpectedly that morning and had a small giggling fit because her brain just didn't process the information correctly. I want to know what the overall pattern of behaviour is before I judge someone for being terrible humans.

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Upstaged75
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am one of those managers who honestly doesn't care. I will never understand how some managers feel the need to treat other people like that! Do they honestly think it creates the best environment for workers to do their job?

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She explained that our reluctance in taking time off is evidence of this. "More than half of Americans don’t take all their PTO in a year — compared to France where 90 percent of people take all their PTO. This could also show up in a reluctance to fully disconnect during time off. When Americans do take vacations, 41 percent are checking into work while away and a whopping 84 percent of executives have canceled vacations in order to work. Managers need to normalize encouraging people to fully unplug when taking PTO!"

When asked what would be an appropriate reaction from the management when employees ask for PTO, Rezvani said they should "go out of your way to accommodate it and try not to probe for an explanation of what they’re doing in their time off. If they want to tell you, they will — but they shouldn’t be obligated."

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Ryan
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Target, in Cali! I'm not sure if the policy is still in place now, but you were required to clock out for 30 minutes if you were working more than 7 hours or something like that. Also, you were required to take said lunch before you've worked 5 hours or more. If you didn't, you got a write up and after so many, you'd get canned. This was so frustrating because there were no exceptions. If you were busy with a customer or on the only register open on a busy day and couldn't clock out for the break in time, oh well! Most of the time it was up to team leader or supervisor to relieve you, unless you were working on the floor, like stocking or facing. Well there I was, on a register while my team lead is on one too. I finally get relieved 5 hours and 45 minutes into my shift and clock out late for my lunch (for the last time). The next shift, they pulled me into the office and fired me for violating company policy AND California state law. BULLSH*T!

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Other users were appalled by the manager's behavior, here's what they had to say