Pregnant woman punished for making food 'too spicy' after manager caught stealing her lunches. AITA?
"AITA I got a warning at work because I tried to catch the person who kept stealing my lunch and it turned out to be my manager? She got a reaction and had to go to the hospital."
I work at a family owned company and I'm also pregnant. I have been having issues with someone stealing my lunch. In the beginning, it wasn't as ofte. I just chalked it up to it being an honest mistake. Someone could have confused my lunch with theirs.
But no, it just continued happening more and more. I started putting my name on it, writing passive aggressive notes on it but that didn't help. I would still find my lunchbox empty, sometimes they would just have a few bites and leave the rest.
Even my half drunk drinks were finished off. They were relentless and it would happen a couple of times a week. I was at my wit's end because 1. I'm extra hungry because of the pregnancy 2.
I am on a really tight budget so I can't even afford to replace the food, meaning I have to work on an empty stomach for my whole shift and this completely enraged me. I even cried a couple of times in the bathroom because of this. It didn't happen to just me but it felt like I was targeted a lot for some reason.
I made a decoy lunch which I put a gigantic load of cayenne pepper because that's the worst thing I had in my cabinet and I didn't want to hurt them. I don't like spicy food so I never really use it. I took the food to work the following day and put it in the fridge but it was still there at the end of my shift so I took it home and brought it back the next day.
Sure enough it was stolen and an hour ish later, there was some commotion. The manager was sick and stuck in the toilet for a while, her throat swelled up, she even had to go to the hospital.
Turns out she had an allergic reaction. When she came back she blamed me because she obviously knew exactly whose food she ate and I told her that it's her own fault for stealing other people's food.
Even after telling my side of the story to her boss, I got a verbal warning and apparently I got off lightly. Nothing happened to the manager. I don't get how I'm the bad guy for messing with MY own food but a literal thief gets away with stealing.
Here were the top rated comments from readers in response to the OP's post:
NTA. "You know, ever since I became pregnant, I have been having these super hard cravings for cayenne pepper."
When I was pregnant with my oldest I drank home made spicy bloody marry mix every day and ate whole pickled jalapeños straight from the costco size jar. It's really not that wild. Lol.
My mom said the dog food bag smelt appetising a few times!! My dad drew the line there!! He locked it up and fed the dog himself!! Poor Cera. It was only for 5 months though!
You know, manager, you eating my food while I’m pregnant might be looked at as a form of discrimination. You are targeting food I need to grow a healthy child. Why are you targeting the pregnant woman in the office?
Yup. Just can't get enough of it. So let me make sure I am clear on this. I am pregnant and now I am being warned/ punished for a craving I am having while pregnant. 🤔Who are those people I can call that protect pregnant women in the work place? I think I want to give them a call now.
NTA it was YOUR lunch. Not the managers to eat. You DID NOT say hey manager I have a sandwich for you in the fridge, help yourself. As far as anyone in there knows you planned on eating that lunch.
There's lots of issues pregnant women suffer that can be helped by cayenne pepper: "Cayenne pepper can help with digestion by stimulating the nerves in the stomach that produce digestive fluids. Cayenne pepper can also help with upset stomach, intestinal gas, stomach pain, diarrhea, and cramps."
It's not like you put ex lax on your food, or even one of those insane sauces with 7 digit scoville ratings. There's nothing suspicious about using a lot of cayenne on your food. My daughter puts it in almost everything.
NTA. Go to HR and file a complaint that your managers actions have potentially harmed your developing fetus due to not being able to eat regular meals. Make it a medical issue, not a property issue.
Separately, talk to your OB doctor about getting a prescription for liquid prenatal multivitamins. Add the required daily dose to your food. Then, if your food is stolen or tampered with again, another complaint to HR about your prescription medication being stolen/altered.
TO ANYONE READING THIS POST AND WHO MIGHT DO THIS IN THE FUTURE:
Never admit to anything. Always play stupid.
In your case OP, all you had to say was, "I had a pregnancy craving for spicy food so I made my food spicy. I fail to see how someone eating my clearly labeled food indicates I did anything on purpose. The only person who did anything on purpose was manager when they took food that didn't belong to them."
Never, under any circumstances, admit to sabotaging your food on purpose.
NTA.
Document, document, document… Document each time your lunch was stolen AND how much it cost to replace. Nobody cares about a lunch or two missing. Once you put a dollar value to it, HR can see how much it costs and now there’s a dollar value associated with the thefts.
Your manager could say, “I mistakenly took the wrong lunch.” But, if you document and show proof you can say, “It happened these 21 times on these days and cost me $200 to replace as I had no food to eat as it was stolen. I would like to be reimbursed my $200 or I’m going to file a police report for the theft of my property.”