Server shares how he wasn't allowed a break during a 9-hour shift and many find it painfully relatable

Giving employees a break during the workday is the basic thing an employer can do, but this employee was not even given that. Cade Alex–who goes by @cadealex on TikTok–worked as a server at a steakhouse in Illinois. In a video, he talked about how he was not given a single break or food in his nine-hour shift at the restaurant. "After day one, I've learned a lot about the food industry and I need someone to let me know if this is legal," he said at the beginning of the video.

He continued, "First of all, they do not even give us breaks or food." He shared that he usually did eight hours shifts and that day, he worked for nine hours. He worked from 3 pm to midnight. "And we are not allowed to eat food or bring in food from outside," Alex pointed out. He then spoke about the time when he used to work at Target. The employers there told him that if he worked for four hours, they would give him a 15-minute break, and for eight hours, he would get a 30-minute break, according to the Illinois state law. He clarified that he was still in Illinois, but that rule didn't apply to the steakhouse he worked at. 

Alex then shared about his previous jobs where he was forced to take a break because it was a law. However, at the steakhouse, things were different. He explained, "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."

He then narrated how a work friend told him that he was lucky that he wasn't working at the steakhouse during the opening days. The management made them work from 9 am to 9 pm and it was "torturous" to work those hours without food or breaks. "Why is this like slave labor? This is a job, not like a freaking prison. If you are a lawyer, chime in because this cannot be legal," he requested. Alex then went on to say that the steakhouse he works for is high-end and they care about their image, but they treat their workers like "garbage" and "poor citizens."

Alex also shared they are not allowed to eat at the restaurant within two hours before or after the shift. "Because they want to make sure that anyone who's eating at the restaurant wouldn't recognize us as a worker," he said. He then spoke about how they are not allowed to park in the parking lot because they don't want customers to see their workers parking next to their nice cars. "So we have to park at the mall and walk over to the steakhouse," he said. Toward the end, he expressed this was not what he signed up for. "I'm not going to quit because I'm only working here for a few months before I go to grad school, but it's definitely an adventure every day," he said.

@jaci.penn commented, "I've done several doubles with no food or break. While serving food, the hunger pangs are sickening. Better smile!" @sn00zinb_anthony wrote, "If you file a complaint with the Department of Labor, they'll investigate to see if any laws are being broken. It's free and confidential." @shelbo888 shared, "Experienced server here. I've never been given a break and food by anyone other than the line cook, who's in love with me. Yeah, it's normal. No food. No break. - Server of 4 restaurants." In a follow-up video, Alex shared the steakhouse fired him from his job for making the video about how employers treated their employees.

You can follow Cade Alex (@cadealex) for more content on his work and his life.