A worker took to the popular Reddit forum "Malicious Compliance" to detail how they took a stand against a policy set by their company in a now-viral post.
u/CyclingFrenchie wrote that if employees work late, they are given a free dinner and a ride back home.
"Can't expense my bike rides home? Okay, then I'll take very expensive ubers instead," read the title of u/CyclingFrenchie's post, which received nearly 12,000 votes since it was published on Wednesday.
Employers who reimburse their employees' expenses should understand the different local payroll laws and tax rules, according to Indeed.
Travel expenses are among the most commonly reimbursed expenses. Plane tickets, taxis, gas and mileage are some of the expenses that may be reimbursed, but a strong reimbursement policy is important for a company to have in place.
"With rules in place for what can and cannot be approved, employees can easily determine what to submit for reimbursement," the article published by Indeed said.
Malicious Compliance: Expense Report
In their post, u/CyclingFrenchie said they prefer to rent an electric bike to ride back home rather than take an uber.
"It's faster, much better for the environment, fun and a great way to decompress after a long [day] of work," they wrote.
When it was time to turn in their expense report, they were told they would not be paid back for what they spent on renting bikes. Instead, they were informed they needed to use Uber, despite the fact that it was more expensive to use the service.
For the next month, u/CyclingFrenchie agreed to book an Uber for their ride home but chose the most expensive option each time.
"Next month, my late night ride expenses increased by almost 5x," u/CyclingFrenchie said. "Needless to say, they strongly encouraged me to get back on the bike and offered to buy me a subscription if available (unfortunately it's not)."
Fellow Reddit users appreciated how u/CyclingFrenchie handled the matter, and some were surprised that the company was willing to work with them.
'I'm Amazed'
"I'm amazed someone actually had the sense to own up to their mistake and encourage you to get back on that bike," a top comment read.
"I love this," another Redditor wrote. "Corporations rarely ever admit that they're wrong! KUDOS!"
"Good work on the [Malicious Compliance]," one Reddit user wrote. "Now it's time to deal with that whole staying late thing."
"Keep taking Uber until they take care of that first month lol," a comment read.
Some said they hoped u/CyclingFrenchie would be reimbursed for what they spent on renting an electric bike.
Others suggested that the company wanted to ensure that their employees got home safely.
"The reason why you get comped an Uber at night is due to safety concerns and the risk of the company getting sued for creating unsafe conditions for making you work at night," one Redditor said.
Newsweek reached out to u/CyclingFrenchie for further comment. We could not verify the details of this case.
Other Reddit users have shared their own stories on the "Malicious Compliance" forum.
A man was praised for revving his truck's engine on a daily basis to annoy his homeowner association.
One employee said they faced pushback from their boss after following their directions to disregard a work rule.
A woman said she brought the remains of her late father into the office because of a company's in-person rule to close an account.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Catherine Ferris is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting for the U.S. Trends Team. She ... Read more
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