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I used to work at Accenture back when they paid workers overtime. As engagement managers got into overage (underestimated projects, often fixed fee), they would put pressure on their workers to work overtime but not log the hours. Two law firms were already reaching out to workers ~2002 trying to form a class for a class action lawsuit.

My boss came by one Friday morning and informed me i'd be onsite working all weekend and told me to "ensure not work over 40hrs" this week. This is an impossibility, I had been working late all week and was already at 45 or 50hrs for the week, and I still had Friday/Saturday/Sunday to go.

So after the discussion, I sent him an email, casual, saying I've cancelled my flight back home for the weekend, confirming i'll be onsite all weekend and that I'd ensure to "only log 40hrs this week".

He came by my desk furious and said if I "ever pulled a stunt like that again there would be consequences"

So I re-plied to the original email, took him off, put on my personal gmail and just recounted the entire episode and sent the email again.




I feel there is something missing in this story… what was implied by your email about cancelling your flight home the agreement to only log 40 hours? Sounds like you were just saying “affirmative”… what is the stunt he thinks you were pulling? And what is the second email about which you mention gmail and taking him off.

It was a great story until that point and I want to know what happened next, I feel I’m missing something.


He was creating a paper trail for illegal working/billing practices.


Only working 40 hours is different from only logging 40 hours, this is the important part:

> they would put pressure on their workers to work overtime but not log the hours.

The email was to get in writing that his boss told him to lie about how many hours he worked.


The stunt is creating a paper trail.




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