Is it rude to reheat fish in the office microwave?
Guilty
The short answer
Yes. In a shared office, the smell belongs to everyone, and fish at noon reaches the whole floor.
The ruling
From the public record. Names are replaced with roles.
Small claims division
Case no.PC-2026-00162
The coworker next to the kitchen v. The coworker who reheats salmon
Filed 10/07/2026
- Plaintiff
- The coworker next to the kitchen
- Defendant
- The coworker who reheats salmon
Statement of claim
Every Tuesday and Thursday at noon he reheats salmon for three minutes. The whole floor smells like it until three. My desk is next to the kitchen.
Charge
Reheating salmon in the shared microwave at peak hours, twice weekly
Judgment
Guilty
Coworker found guilty of reheating salmon at noon, twice a week
Sentence
The defendant will eat fish cold or reheat it before 11 a.m., and buy the plaintiff one coffee as a matter of record.
How the court usually rules on this
The court treats the office microwave as a shared space with a shared air supply. Fish, eggs and reheated broccoli are the usual subjects. Eating them cold, or reheating them at an off-peak hour, is the standard remedy, and the court rarely asks for more than that.
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