Former Employee says am/pm Store Violated California Labor Laws

Los Angeles, CA Janice worked as a cashier at an am/pm franchise, a gas station and convenience store owned by BP America Inc. Janice says am/pm is making their employees work double shifts - in different locations - and not paying overtime, which is a violation of California labor law.

According to Janice, am/pm managers should brush up on the California labor code, and not just regarding overtime laws. "I see how hard my fellow employees work and don't get paid for it," she says. "One guy was ill and went to urgent care; he called the manager and said he was too sick to return to work that day. 'You really let me down,' she said.

"One of my co-workers is working 80 hours a week. I've woken him up in his car a few times, telling him it is time to go to work. He just goes into the bathroom and washes up before starting his shift. I had to work at one am/pm store from 5:30 am until 1:30 pm, then drive 10 minutes to another store and work the 2-10 pm shift, without any overtime pay. The franchise owners justified no overtime pay by saying different stores have different payrolls. But am/pm owns both locations - they own a lot of convenience stores/gas stations in many states. And I was told that if one owner or company owns the same workplace, you must be paid overtime." (In this case, the owner is BP America.)

Janice says many am/pm employees work double shifts every day and some of them are even sleeping in their cars. "One of my co-workers is working 80 hours a week," Janice says. "I've woken him up in his car a few times, telling him it is time to go to work. He just goes into the bathroom and washes up before starting his shift. Another older gentleman is so exhausted having to do all these hours. He asked the manager if he can just stay at one store but they said no. He was afraid of losing his job if he didn't do what he was told. By the way, one man is from India and the other man is from Asian descent - I think they are being taken advantage of.

"A few days after working a 17-hour shift, I was suspended. A secret shopper came in that day and tried to buy alcohol underage. I didn't sell her alcohol but I still failed the test because the bathroom was dirty. We were so busy because the pumps outside weren't taking credit cards so everyone was paying at my cash register. I was alone for three hours, with no time to clean the bathroom.

"I was put on a three-day suspension, apparently because I rang in too many voids. I phoned on the fourth day (Monday) and my manager said the weekends didn't 'count,' so I was also suspended Monday and Tuesday - five days. This is like some Mickey Mouse joke: I had done no wrong and things were getting worse by the minute. I was treated like a child. Every day I called to find out when I was scheduled back to work, but 13 days later I was still suspended. I wrote a respectful letter to the supervisor and asked what was going on. The supervisor said, 'I'll get back to you.'

"Next day they fired me. All they said was, 'Sorry, we have to let you go.' That is when I got my final check - after waiting 13 days on suspension.

"This is why I had a lot of voids: I would ring in a sale and the customer would give me their credit card. But we don't accept credit cards, only debit. (You have to pay for gas beforehand, not at the pump.) Oftentimes, the customer would have no other way to pay so I had to void the sale. This happens all day long because there are no signs saying 'we don't accept credit cards.' Sometimes we had a line to the back of the store with people complaining that the pumps don't even accept debit cards outside - they have been broken for a year. Customers would yell at us. We were so swamped we couldn't do our regular duties like cleaning the bathroom.

"I was wrongfully terminated - another labor law violation. My manager even admitted I didn't do any wrong after I was fired. The lady from main office said I had to be fired because I had too many voids on my cash register. What am I supposed to tell a potential employer? The assistant manager advised me to say I was laid off for lack of hours because I didn't do anything wrong.

"Now I'm on unemployment. I have a four-year-old daughter and I'm a single mom. I am such a good worker and this is so disappointing. But an attorney called from LawyersandSettlements and they sent me some paperwork. I want my co-workers to get what they deserve and stop being treated this way. It's not just about me."