Can my manager make me close the restaurant alone at night?
The short answer
What to check
OSHA’s late-night retail guidance (OSHA 3153) includes a checklist for employers. These items from it fit a restaurant close. OSHA says they’re recommendations, not requirements.
| OSHA’s recommendation | Ask about your close |
|---|---|
| Keep doors locked before and after business hours, and lock delivery and trash doors when not in use | Is the back door locked while you count out? |
| Use drop safes and keep a minimal amount of cash in each register | How much cash is left in the drawer at close? |
| Make sure workers can get to garbage and outdoor storage areas without more risk of assault | Do you take trash out alone after dark? |
| Security escorts to parking areas in evening or late hours; well-lit parking | Is the lot lit? Can someone walk you out? |
| A “buddy system,” especially when personal safety may be threatened | Is anyone with you, or checking on you, at close? |
| Emergency procedures for a robbery, such as calling the police or triggering an alarm | Is there an alarm or panic button, and do you know how to use it? |
| Procedures to keep workers who open and close safe | Is there a written closing procedure? |
Not tax or legal advice. OSHA’s checklist was written for late-night retail such as convenience stores, liquor stores, and gas stations. Restaurants share some of the same risks. In an emergency, call 911.
Plain English
What federal law requires
OSHA says there are currently no specific OSHA standards for workplace violence, and no federal rule we found sets minimum staffing at close. What does apply is the General Duty Clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. It requires every employer to provide a workplace “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.” OSHA says courts read this to mean a hazard the employer or its industry recognizes, when there’s a feasible way to fix it.
What OSHA recommends
OSHA’s publication 3153, “Recommendations for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs in Late-Night Retail Establishments,” lists these risk factors: handling money, solo work and isolated work sites, selling alcohol, poorly lit stores and parking areas, and lack of training in handling hostile behavior. OSHA’s workplace-violence page names working late at night and working where alcohol is served too. The publication says its recommendations are advisory, create no new legal duties, and that not adopting a listed step doesn’t by itself prove a violation of the General Duty Clause.
If you’re told to close alone
Example text
“Hi Chris, I’m on close alone Saturday. Can we lock the back door at 10, drop the cash before I count out, and have someone walk me to my car? If not, could we schedule a second closer?”
Also practical: tell someone when you expect to leave and text when you’re out, park close to the door, and don’t take trash out alone after dark if you can wait until morning. For a robbery, OSHA says worker training should cover turning over money or valuables without resistance.
Refusing to work, and retaliation
OSHA says a worker may have a legal right to refuse to work only in narrow cases: the condition clearly presents a risk of death or serious physical harm, there isn’t time for OSHA to inspect, and, where possible, you told your employer first. It’s illegal for an employer to retaliate against you for complaining to OSHA. OSHA says you can file a whistleblower complaint within 30 days of the retaliation.
Where to ask
You can file a confidential safety complaint with OSHA at 1-800-321-6742 (1-800-321-OSHA). Some states run their own OSHA-approved safety plans, which may have their own rules; DOL keeps a list of state labor offices.
Common mistakes
- Assuming there must be a two-person rule. Federal law doesn’t have one.
- Raising the concern only out loud. A dated text shows you asked.
- Missing the 30-day window for an OSHA retaliation complaint.
- Never having been told what to do in a robbery. Ask for your restaurant’s procedure before your first close.
Official sources
- OSHA 3153, Recommendations for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs in Late-Night Retail Establishments (2009)osha.gov
- OSHA: Workplace Violenceosha.gov
- OSHA: Workplace Violence, Enforcement (General Duty Clause)osha.gov
- 29 U.S.C. 654, Duties of employers and employees (General Duty Clause)govinfo.gov
- OSHA: Workers’ Rightsosha.gov
- OSHA: File a Complaintosha.gov
Last verified:
Checked OSHA 3153 (2009), OSHA’s Workplace Violence overview and enforcement pages, OSHA’s Workers’ Rights and File a Complaint pages, and 29 U.S.C. 654(a).
Still open: Whether a lone close at a particular restaurant is a “recognized hazard” under the General Duty Clause depends on the facts, and OSHA 3153 was written for late-night retail, not restaurants. Some state safety plans have their own workplace-violence rules; they aren’t covered here.