California Labor Law News
Harassment by Women—A California Labor Law Violation
Camden worked the evening shift for a telemarketing company. He believes he was harassed by the two women and used as a scapegoat by one of the managers so they would "save face". If that is the case, a California state labor law has been violated. It all started when the night manager, Wendy, blamed him for the entire group of telemarketers not reading their script properly--the group was supposed to read the disclaimer: "This call may be recorded for quality control," after every call.
"One night, because Wendy [the manager] was not there, everyone took a recess from the disclaimer due to so many people not speaking English over the phone," says Camden. "Eileen [2nd in command] was the manager that night, and if we were at fault then no doubt it would be her duty to accept blame for the occasion and fix the situation immediately, but she didn't do anything.
Wendy was at home monitoring us--we weren't supposed to know. She was doing this because she did not want to be there in the evenings, and was basically abandoning her position as manager of the new campaign. Towards the end of that evening, Eileen was getting yelled at over the phone by Wendy and then she came over to my desk and told me to punch out because I was in trouble.
Because Wendy needed to rely on Eileen, I was the fall guy, I was blamed because Wendy didn't want to blame the manager. But why me? Perhaps because she felt that I had a strong character that was influencing the rest of the group; meaning that I am a 42-year- old white male who should be held responsible for others. I was accused of being the ringleader in the vice.
The next day Eileen wagged a pink slip in front of me saying I was that close to being fired. Then she started freaking out on me; she went on a rampage and started yelling at all of us. I told her that we needed someone else here in the evening.
She called the owner to get permission to fire me. I tried to reconcile??"I know she was about to pull the trigger. That evening I was trying my best, but I was working on a slow computer with cheap headphones. I was being monitored by Wendy the entire time; I got one call after another that started with, ' I don't speak English,' so I said, 'Thank you and have a good evening'. Wendy lost it. She dragged me into the conference room. 'Why aren't you probing the customers?', she screamed over and over again.
She backed me into a corner and sent me home. I knew I was fired. They confuse at-will employment with at-will harassment. They can do anything they want to get you fired. The end justifies the means. They can set you up and there is no legislation in the California labor law that says you cannot do that.
I talked to someone at the Department of Fair Housing and Employment. He couldn't do anything but send me a letter with alternatives. Then I went to the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC). They just listen to your complaint and do nothing. So now I have to wait three months to make an appeal to the California Employment Development Department. In other words I have no income right now. I would have dropped the entire issue but for the fact that I am broke, so now I am going to seek legal help."
California Labor Law, Discrimination and Permatemps
"For the first 6 months I was temporarily employed, I didn't get any benefits at all, just a salary for the days worked," says Sagun. " After 6 months I asked my supervisor about my employment status??"I was worried about future work??"and she told me that I would get paid as a temp until I was hired full-time, which would happen within a year.
Instead, I didn't get any full-time job offers from that company but after the year I was offered a job in another department, same company. My supervisors and the head of the department asked me not to transfer because they said they needed me and I was going to get full time status immediately. It was also discussed with the director of HR. I did not accept the offer to transfer because I was asked to stay in my old position. But they didn't hire me full time??"and I don't think they had any intention of doing so.
I worked as a permatemp for two years and two months, without any benefits. I didn't have health insurance; I never received vacation pay and I never received sick pay or 401K. As well, someone else in the company was in the same situation??"he was from China??"but he eventually got full time after working there for about two years.
The promise they made to hire me full-time was a verbal offer; they said if I agreed, they would write up a contract. My complaint is that I was kept as a temp employee for two years and during this time they hired about 6 other scientists, all Americans. I believe I was discriminated against because of my race??"I am East Indian. I became a US citizen in December 2006 but it didn't seem to make any difference. I was fired July 17th, 2008 without any reason. They just said my temporary employment had ended.
I have two complaints: the permatemp problem and the discrimination issue. I filed a complaint with the California Labor Board but they asked me to contact the Fair Employment and Housing department because the labor board doesn't handle racial discrimination cases. Instead I contacted a lawyer and I am in the process of gathering all my documents including my initial offer from the company, my performance reviews and my stock options--which they offered in March, 2008. I signed the stock option papers but I don't understand how I can get stock options when I was a temp.
My lawyer is currently reviewing everything and will get back to me. I am hopeful that if I qualify for a lawsuit, I can get compensated for all the benefits I was denied for more than two years."
Permatemp lawsuits
Sagun and countless other people like him are often hired by companies as "permatemps" to avoid paying them health benefits. But is Sagun's employer breaking the law by keeping him as a temp for more than two years?
If the employer is looking to class people as "temporary," in order to avoid paying benefits or compensation, yet otherwise treats the employees as full time employees, they may be in violation of the California labor law.
Sagun's issue reflects the most abusive permatemp employment situation-- when a worker classified as temporary works alongside regular employees doing similar work for a long period, usually without comparable benefits. By claiming the employee as temporary, the employer avoids paying for benefits and possibly pays a lower hourly wage. The employer can also benefit because it has no direct responsibility to the employee. Permatemp employees such as Sagun can be fired or laid off at any time, as they have no career service protection or seniority. Add to that the possibility of racial discrimination…
Clearly, Sagun was exploited by being denied the wages, benefits, and employment rights enjoyed by other employees. He likely has a case against his employer: class action lawsuits have been decided against similar companies that generally involve violation of ordinances or rules limiting the length of service of such workers. Two California labor law cases address the issues of public employees who were improperly considered "temporary" when they were actually employed as regular, permanent employees. The class action lawsuits involve the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the employment practices of the Metropolitan Water District.
And in October 2004 an opinion from the US Department of Labor said "many temps can be counted as part of the employer's workforce in deciding if the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to that employer." The opinion says "routine temps," who have a "continuing relationship" to the employer should be counted in determining whether the employer has the minimum 50 employees necessary to qualify for the FMLA: Sagun clearly qualifies.
Institutions not above the California Labor Law
On every invoice, Caroline writes 'payable on receipt' but it often takes more than 60 days for her to receive payment. "The last time I waited for my check, I called my contact on day 31 and asked when I would receive the money," she says, exasperated. "I called twice and both times were told 'It is in accounting and out of my hands.' Then my contact went on vacation so I e-mailed accounting. Again I was up against a brick wall.
Next up, I called the small business association with the state of California??"on their website they have a liaison for prompt payment of vendor invoices from state agencies. They advised me to contact the state controller who then put me on to the auditor. I talked to the auditor and he said it is unprofessional and said they do have a time limit of 30 days??"max.
The auditor also said I need to contact the university accounting department to see if the check had indeed been cut. I called someone in the clerical department??"a friend??"and she found out that none of my invoices (I was waiting for 3) were actually in accounting. If I hadn't chased this down, I would still be in limbo and maybe not get paid for months.
I finally got it resolved and received one check a week later??"just the one that was overdue. 'You have to pay in a specific time', I said to the the health system contractor??"she is the person responsible. 'We are a university and we don't need to pay on time, neither do we pay interest or late fees,' she replied. She is a piece of work. I found out that a lot of contractors don't want to work with the university because, even though they pay, you never know when.
But the university is bound by state and federal law: they receive federal funding and my tax dollars; they think they are above the law and this is so frustrating. They have such a laissez-faire attitude; I have a mortgage and bills to pay and it is very difficult sometimes.
The head of the department finally apologized and sent me a note, so I'm hopeful that it won't happen again. I've been told that many contractors are abused by the university. Right now I want to get the word out so that people in my situation don't have to go through this; we are all in business together but not treated equally and in a professional manner. We are not respected and paid on time but we give 120 percent to them. Some people have advised me not to talk about this issue because they think I could lose the business. Then again I spent 3 days chasing down my money and that cuts into my work."
Automotive Company Downsizes-- California Labor Law Violation?
Sean has family with 2 young kids to support so this lay-off has been devastating. He has never been laid off or fired in his life. "I've never been in this situation before??"I filed for unemployment and it is really hard to take," says Sean.
"I understand times are tough but a few months back they just changed my pay from salary plus commission to an hourly rate which gave me a substantial pay cut, but I still did my job regardless," says Sean. "Getting a reduction in pay was bad enough??"for the last 3 months I got about $600 per month less than my regular salary. Overtime wasn't allowed so I was just working an 8-hour day. When I was on salary, it was the same schedule; nothing changed in my job description. And my pay reduction happened right before my father passed away so it's been rough.
I more or less resigned myself to the fact that I had to live with this cut in pay, but when I was laid off my position was filled from someone inside the company with less seniority than me, and that wasn't right. I called my ex-boss and asked why; in all my yearly reviews I got perfect scores and was always told I was doing a great job.
He said that 'I was not going above and beyond my call of duty'. I didn't know what else to say to him except 'Thank you'.
The only thing that changed from my salary to hourly position was that we had 4 people in the department and the business opened a wholesale division, which meant one of my guys moved into the wholesale store, leaving me short-staffed. The guy who moved was also 'buddies' with my boss so when they laid me off, the next day he was back at our store. And the day after I was 'laid off' I got a lot of phone calls from co-workers and suppliers I dealt with telling me the news--that he had just moved into my former position.
I believe that I was laid off because there was no justification to fire me. But I haven't been told when I can return to work and I don't think I will ever get a call to return.
I think the main reason I was laid off was simply because my boss and this guy were good friends. And that isn't fair. The chances of my finding another job in my particular field are pretty slim; I think it is going to take a while??"or maybe never. As you probably know, California car dealerships are going out of business??"my prospects aren't good. In fact I'm looking at switching careers; I'm thinking about computer design or construction of some sort but my automotive days are likely over.
I want to file a complaint against my former employer so he won't be able to do this again, to somebody else. This company is huge so I am sure their lawyers research and advise them on how to get rid of employees without any recriminations. And that isn't right??"even in these times."
California Car Wash Takes its Employees to the Cleaners
Such is the case in Los Angeles, after 60 workers at a Redondo Beach car wash will receive almost a half million dollars in back wages after they were stiffed by their employer. The California Labor Commissioner brought a lawsuit against the employer on the workers' behalf, and a settlement was reached November 19th.
Sometimes, the little guy gets his due. And in this case, the little guy wouldn't have had much to start with, before the employer began to take away even that.
At the center of the investigation was the Bruno Scherrer Corporation, doing business as the Hollywood Riviera. After starting an investigation in October of 2006, the Office of the California Labor Commissioner found that the Hollywood Riviera would pay their employees minimum scale for as little as 3, or 4 hours of work??"only to require them to finish out their day with pay from tips only. For some employees, this would amount to half their day working for tips.
It was also alleged that beyond shorting their employees on their earnings, the employer failed to properly record, and keep accurate records of an employee's work hours.
"Employees must be fully paid for all hours that they work," said Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet. "Businesses are required by law to keep accurate records showing when the employee begins and ends each work shift and properly compensate for those hours.
"Clearly this case reveals a deplorable situation where employees were being taken advantage of by not being paid their proper wage," said Bradstreet. "This case is an excellent example of why we register carwash companies in California."
The California Labor Commissioner filed a lawsuit against Hollywood Riviera in Los Angeles Superior Court, on behalf of the 60 workers, in September of last year. They stand to collect $450,000 in unpaid wages, as a result of the successful litigation.
The California Labor Commissioner, and other commentators familiar with the case, agree that the case represented a blatant violation of minimum wage laws??"and specifically AB 1688, a Bill passed by the California State Legislature in 2003 that granted a registration system for all car wash and polishing enterprises.
California Labor Code sections 2050-2067 addresses the car was and polishing industry, and is known collectively as the Car Wash Worker Law. Its very existence provides protection for employees of the car wash and polishing industry against the actions of unscrupulous employers.
And there are some nasty violations out there that go beyond illegal cash pay. Failure to provide adequate worker's compensation is another oft-cited violation, and officials often see child labor violations at car wash and polishing enterprises. Sure, the kid wants some pocket coin. He'll do the work for tips, or for a couple of bucks in his jeans. He's glad for the cash, and hey who's gonna know? Better than the kid being on the street. We'll put him to work…
Sorry, but that doesn't cut it. There are laws and statutes, and the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement adjudicates various violations in the area of wage claims, discrimination and various other complaints??"and more importantly enforces State labor law and Industrial Welfare Commission wage orders.
In short, there are various checks and balances in play to ensure that employers refrain from flaunting California labor laws, and taking their already low-paid workers completely to the cleaners. California state labor laws ensure that you can't do what Hollywood Riviera was accused of doing, an accusation that appears as fact after the employer, following the California State labor law investigation, agreed to cough up $450,000 to be split amongst its 60 workers. A nice Christmas present indeed.
Employers Violate California Labor Law
Marie worked full shifts at the gas station, but the majority of her time was spent alone, meaning that she could not take breaks, including lunch breaks, and could not go to the bathroom. Because she was not allowed to take breaks, she never had the opportunity to sit down while at work, until she took matters into her own hands. Unfortunately, her employer's wife came by the gas station while Marie was sitting down.
"She didn't like that," Marie says. "That was one of the reasons stated on the paper he gave me when I was terminated??"that I sat down. I worked without a break??"not even a lunch break??"so I felt that I should be able to sit down for a while.
"The paper also says that he gave me warnings, but I never received any type of warning, not even a verbal warning. Once, I had a drive off of $80, which was my fault and I took responsibility for that. At the end of my shift, I wrote a note explaining what had happened and I said I would pay back the $80, which I did by taking $20 off my next four paychecks. But then the paper says I received another warning for a drive off of $42, but that never happened.
"The other thing is that we're a gas station??"drive offs happen. All the employees had drive offs, not just me. I don't feel that is justification for firing me.
"My employer wrote that I got 'another' customer complaint, but I never had any customer complaints. My customers were regulars and they loved me. Plus, I got 100 percent on a secret shopper visit??"I got an award of $40 for that. So it's not true that I had a customer complaint. If I did have complaints, they didn't tell me about it??"nobody said anything. I'm accused of being belligerent and insubordinate when questioned on things, but nobody questioned me on anything.
"We had to stand most of the time and it was a hard cement floor. I asked my boss if he could just get us a rubber mat to stand on and he flat out refused. I asked a few times because it was hard standing on the floor, but he wouldn't do it.
"I was responsible for maintaining restrooms while on shift, but he did not provide us with gloves for cleaning??"even though I requested some. One time, I had to clean up a child's vomit from the counter and the front of the store and I had no gloves to clean with. I was really mad about that."
There are some employers who have no trouble asking their employees to do things they would never do themselves. Standing for full shifts with no possibility of a rest break, lunch break or even a break to go to the bathroom is ridiculous and it should not be asked of employees. Cleaning restrooms without gloves goes beyond the bounds of what is reasonable.
Employers get away with these violations because many employees are too afraid to fight back. Hopefully as more employees come forward, employers will think twice before breaking California state labor laws.
California Labor Law: A Tale of Two Hard Drives
Take the hard drive that represents life in the truck cab. Truck drivers in California put in long hours. One might think that sitting on one's duff all day does not constitute work but the opposite is true. The truck driver may be sitting for a good part of the time, but he or she is responsible for piloting a vehicle weighing several tons safely along a road with other cars. There's the load to think of??"getting it on and taking it off??"the logbook, the payload roster and, when on the road, all that shifting. You haven't really used a clutch until you've driven a big rig.
It's a tough life. So imagine California Attorney General Jerry Brown's dismay when he found more companies allegedly exploiting their hard-working drivers by illegally classifying them as independent contractors. As such, an employer can get out of paying overtime, payroll taxes, health care costs and worker's compensation by classifying an employee as an independent contractor.
The Associated Press reported late last month that three additional trucking companies doing business at the ports of LA and Long Beach had been accused by Attorney General Brown of committing tax fraud and breaking labor laws. That brings to 5 the number of companies that have been cited since Labor Day.
"Truck drivers at the ports work long hours under tough conditions," Brown said in a written statement. "These companies take advantage of their workers by failing to provide them with state-mandated protections and benefits."
And then there are those other hard drives??"the ones in your computer, or more specifically the hard drives over which computer programmers and specialists in California slave, day in and day out.
Due to the nature of the work, and of the industry itself, California has strict overtime statutes that are customized to the computer industry, although these always keep changing, and a new bill signed by California Governor Schwarzenegger in late September is already in effect.
The new law, California Assembly Bill 10 (AB 10) amends existing overtime exemptions contained in Section 515.5 of the California Labor Code for computer professionals. The amendments cover two primary areas: employee duties and compensation.
One change involves the simple change of a word, from the conjunctive 'and' to the disjunctive 'or.' Thus, the qualifier phrase 'highly skilled and proficient in the theoretical and practical application of highly specialized information to computer systems analysis, programming, and software engineering' which previously qualified for the overtime exemption, now reads 'highly skilled and proficient in the theoretical and practical application of highly specialized information to computer systems analysis, programming, OR software engineering.'
Just a slight change. But what this does, it has been reported, is increase the number of computer professionals eligible for the overtime exemption.
As for compensation guidelines, the standard $36 per-hour threshold has been augmented by the identification of a yearly salary of $75,000, or a rate of at least $6,350 per month. In other words, computer professionals may be exempt from overtime if they earn $36 per hour or an annual salary of $75,000 (or greater) for full-time employment paid in monthly amounts of not less than 1/12th the annual salary.
Fans of the change say that this will streamline the process. And, of course, it allows employers to minimize their potential overtime liability??"a cost that is difficult to control??"by identifying a greater number of computer professionals who would not qualify for overtime.
However, critics say this favors the employer and is a loss for any employee who, before the law took effect may have been regularly claiming overtime. The sudden inclusion into exempt status for them represents a loss of income.
A number of California computer professionals have litigated against their employers for freezing them out of the possibility for overtime, due to misclassification??"either accidental, or deliberate. It's hard to determine what effect this latest update to the law will have. However it's safe to say that if you're a California computer professional and you have any questions about the work you do vs. the manner in which your employer has you classified, a consultation with a California Labor Law lawyer would go along way in helping you determine your rights in an ever-changing environment.
"Referring to my Weight is a California Labor Law Violation"
"This new owner removed the gate because 'it didn't have to be there' and he also said that if I properly supervised my children, a gate wouldn't be required," says Loretta. He created a hostile work environment for Loretta from that day forward and worse...
"I properly look after the children; they are my responsibility and I do a good job," says Loretta. "To be honest, I have never had this much trouble with a job in my life. The previous owner gave me a letter of recommendation and she gave a copy to the new owner.
He is very rude--another incident happened. I was talking to a parent and without thinking, I sat down on the table, still talking. He came into the room and yelled at me, in front of the parents. ' It is unprofessional to sit on the table and you can break it, do you have $300 to repair it? He was alluding to the fact that I am overweight. He told me that he would take $300 out of my paycheck if I break the table. I don't think he can do that.
'You are going to break the leg of the table,' he said again. I waited until the parent left, already after hours. I took aside the sight director, a co-worker in charge of staffing, and the owner. I explained to him that he was unprofessional and rude and that if he had a problem with my work, he should have taken me aside.
He then told me that he is the boss and he is the one who signs the checks. 'Aside from the fact that you are the owner, don't disrespect me in front of parents,' I said.
Again, he reiterated that he is the boss and I have to do things his way.
It's not going to work his way. He said that nothing negative should ever come out of my mouth so I walked out. I told my co-worker that I cannot work under these conditions and I quit--I am still so stressed out with this guy.
I have been working at day care centers for 14 years and I've never had a problem with anyone. I have never walked off a job. I am in contact with my co-workers and they agree that he is rude. He installed sliding locks on all the doors to prevent children from getting into the classrooms. I couldn't unlock it; I had to get a can opener to pry it up so it would unlock. What if there was a fire? What if someone got sick? We would be in trouble.
I asked one of the women who works there if that issue was ever addressed. But the new owner told her, If the door is locked, the parents need to knock on the door to be let in.' But what about getting out? What if it gets stuck again?
I'm not the only one he has shown his temper to. He has anger management issues. I just want this man to know that I have rights and he cannot talk to me this way; if you are going to continue talking to people this way, it is never going to work, especially in a childcare facility. And what about the kids? My first priority is to protect the children under my care and the second is to protect my rights.
What bothers me the most is that I had to walk away from these children not knowing what is going to happen to them. I am so emotionally distressed and can't do anything for them now. I filed for unemployment but they don' t know if they can grant it to me because I quit. I'm out every day looking for another job but the bills are piling up, which is stressing me out even more. It isn't fair that I can't get unemployment.
I have sent an email to a co-worker at the center and to the childcare licensing center, voicing my concern about this man and his new safety installations and more.
I also have a letter from one of the co-workers regarding regulations that are going on. She reiterated the same issues that I had; the fire extinguisher was removed and she found it on toddler bathroom floor. Nice! She also said she has a hard time working with him due to his short temper and he has openly chastised her in front of staff and parents.
I don't know what I can do to change things but I would hope that it doesn't continue this way. He has created a very unhealthy environment for the children and the staff. Six other workers are looking for another job that I know of. I would really like this guy to get a talking to! At least understand that creating a hostile environment and discriminating against an employee because of her weight is a violation of the California Labor Law."
Disgruntled Employee says Disney violated California Labor Law
But that's just one of Timothy's complaints. His problems with Disney started when he suffered an injury at work and was put into a 'transitional duty stage'??"which means he was removed from his regular work and placed in another position that wouldn't require the use of his arm. "I worked for Disney WorldWide Services' restaurants and was diagnosed with advanced carpal tunnel in both wrists and torn rotator cuffs," says Timothy.
Timothy collected workers compensation benefits but says Disney caused him to lose workers compensation benefits. "Twice, they told my insurance adjustor that I had returned to work, but I hadn't returned," he says. Timothy was eventually reinstated but he didn't have any income for weeks and has a family to support.
"I'm not Disney's only workers compensation case but after my injury it has been one problem after another," he says. "I know other employees who have had medical problems??"they were transferred to positions where they have to use their hands in repetitive motions even though their doctor has given notification.
But this is my biggest beef with Disney: I came back to work on September 22 and they took union dues from my pay when the union has no standing contract with Disney and they haven't taken any dues from other union members since February. They took $140 off my check and on my pay stub it states this amount went to 'Local 681 union dues'. I phoned accounting and was told to talk to my immediate supervisors. They sent me to HR and HR told me to call the union. I even called my workers' compensation adjustor and he advised me to contact a lawyer.
The union called Disney's payroll department and Disney told the union that I would be refunded $105 on October 16th. Had I been fired, I would have been given a check immediately. Why do I have to wait for this money?"
Thirdly, Timothy says Disney has also violated California state labor law because it
"owes me money from the time when I was in transitional duties one year ago," he says.
"That position came with a premium pay which means that if I am not making tips, I get paid a higher rate than basic minimum wage. They didn't inform me that I was entitled to this premium and instead they paid minimum wage: $7.50 per hour. However I was entitled to receive $8.36 per hour. Again I called labor relations, accounting and HR and they told me to call transitional duty. Guess what??"transitional duty told me to call labor relations.
In other words, I am getting the run-around. My co-worker is owed about $350 because Disney paid out union dues when they weren't supposed to. They told him the money would be refunded but that was a year ago and he hasn't been paid what is rightfully his. Because of him I decided to seek legal help and get paid what is legally mine according to California labor employment law."
California Labor Law: Employees Keep Quiet to Keep Their Jobs
Dannie S. worked for a large, well-known pet store chain for a year and a half, until approximately 4 weeks ago when he was fired. At the time, Dannie was told he was fired for talking back to a customer at the front of the store??"something Dannie says there was no policy against when he was fired. In fact, Dannie says that the company has enacted many new policies since he was fired, including a policy against working off the clock.
"All the time that they [the pet store chain] were violating the labor laws, I knew they were doing it but because I wanted to keep my job, I never said anything," Dannie says. "I have to be honest about that right away. I knew it was going on.
"The thing is, they [the company] have an expectation of a certain amount of money each store [in the chain] has to make. But, they don't want anyone to get overtime. But in order to make the kind of money that they want you to make, you have no choice but to work overtime. I would come in way before I had to be at work, up to 2 to 3 hours early. I would clock out for lunch, but work through that lunch hour, then clock back in. Then, I would clock out before the day was over and work for another 2 to 3 hours. In the year and a half I was there, I actually took my lunch maybe 12 times??"and for those times I was still eating my sandwich while I was working.
"They [management] knew I was doing this. There was pressure from the district manager to make money. It wasn't the store manager's fault really, although she knew I was doing this. She probably should have intervened and told me not to work off the clock, but she worked off the clock, too.
"The other thing they would do was they would go into the files and edit your times for you. I know they have my signature on a couple of edited times, but I didn't sign all of them. Again, I didn't say anything because I wanted to keep my job.
"I know that they know they are wrong. I was the grooming manager and I got along well with my employees??"we are still in touch. My employees called to tell me that since I was fired, everyone is required to take their lunch breaks and leave the premises during lunch. They also now have a policy against talking back to customers at the front of the store [Dannie says he was fired for refusing to groom an elderly, sick cat, which was consistent with company policy, and then, after the customer became verbally abusive, telling the customer to leave the store or the police would take care of her]. That's now grounds for automatic termination, but I never saw a policy like that when I was there.
"No one ever told me not to work off the clock and everybody knew I was doing it. We all knew we had to do whatever we could because there was so much pressure from the district manager to make our sales goals. We had no choice but to work off the clock. Normally, a dog groomer sees about 5 or 6 dogs a day. I would do 12 to 13 dogs a day??"that's double the amount a normal groomer does. I did it because I took no breaks and I worked off the clock. By not saying anything about it, I've been encouraging it."
Some employers argue that employees make their own decision to work off the clock and they cannot be held responsible if the employee makes that decision. However, those companies have no problems benefiting from employees who work off the clock (for example, in profits from increased sales) so they should either properly compensate employees for overtime hours or prohibit employees from working off the clock. These are the only ways to ensure that employees are not taken advantage of.
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