Work problems need some help

[BUD]

I have been working in the Grocery busness for off and on for 14 years and I have never had this problem at the other stores I worked.I got called to the office Wed. nite and the Co-manger telling me and the lead stocker have to put up the trucks,Block the whole store that also means Dairy and frozen food and stock milk also!!!Right now there is only me and the lead stocker and a 52000sq ft store!!!!AND we are not allowed to have overtime if we go over into overtime they FIRE us.They want us to work off the clock I guess Anothing problem is no help and people do not want to work 3rd shift anymore and plus the pay sucks!!!I have been with this company for 5 years now and its getting very bad!!Like tonite me and the lead stocker has to put up the truck and make the store look perfect at the same time and my hours run out after 6.5 before I get my 40 for the week.Should I talk to the labor board about whats gone on before me or the other guy dies of a heart attack or stroke???

[bjacobs99]

first talk with the manager...what ever you do don't work off the clock ..if something happens and you get hurt workmans comp will not help you

[BEER980]

This should help. If nothing else you might print it and post it somewhere at work when no one is looking. If you were a public sector employee the Garcia law would cover this.

Off-The-Clock Work
What You Can Do About It

The Violations

Federal and state wage and hour laws prohibit employers from "permitting" employees to perform off-the-clock work. Employers must compensate for all work that they knew about or should have known about. Employers must do everything within their power to prevent off-the-clock work. Not surprisingly, many employers are willing to look the other way while employees perform unpaid work voluntarily or under pressure. Common violations include:

• Allowing or requiring work to be done before the start of a shift, such as pretripping or warming up trucks.
• Allowing or requiring work to be done after the end of a shift, such as clean up, paperwork or completing tasks that "should have" been done during the shift.
• Deducting meal breaks which employees do not take or took with interruptions or significant restrictions.
• No-overtime rules and/or productivity goals or pressure which encourage employees to do some work on their own time.
• Putting employees on a "salary" without overtime pay, even though their job tasks do not fit within the overtime exemptions for "professional," "administrative" or "executive" employees.
• Orientation, training or book work done on "own time" or during unpaid meal breaks.
• Rewarding the "good" employees who are willing to go the extra mile by coming in early, staying late, working through all or part of breaks, taking work home, etc.
It is the rare employer who will go out of its way to prevent these practices from occurring.

The Law Favors Employees

Wage and hour laws are written and interpreted in favor of employees:

• Employers have the obligation to stop work if they do not want to pay for it.
• Employers have almost no defenses: it is no defense that the employees (1) acted voluntarily, (2) tried to hide the work from management, (3) agreed not to seek proper compensation, or (4) entered into an out-of-court settlement of the claims.
• Employees can prove individuals and group cases by reasonable estimation -- not every employee need testify.
• Employees often can recover double back pay.
• If it loses, the employer must pay the employees' attorney in addition to paying damages - this encourages enforcement of relatively small claims and also encourages employers to settle valid claims.
• Exemptions from the overtime and minimum wage requirements (and there are many) are strictly and narrowly construed.
• Employees can go back three years to bring suit - far longer than the time provided for in labor agreements.
• Employees can file suit on behalf of larger groups of employees affected by similar policies or practices.
• Employees can choose from federal and state wage and hour laws, taking the most favorable of each.
• Union members are typically allowed to enforce wage and hour law rights independent of collective bargaining agreement provisions and procedures.
• Judges and juries do not like dishonest or coercive workplace practices.
Wage and hour plaintiffs have it much easier than employees who sue for wrongful discharge, discrimination, breach of the duty of fair representation or many other areas where workers have rights which can be difficult to enforce.

What to do?


Seek advice from an attorney or an agency official if you think your rights may have been violated. Keep in mind, however, that many attorneys do not know the ins and outs of wage and hour law and that many agencies are understaffed and do not aggressively enforce the laws. Therefore, you should be patient and be willing to keep trying until you find the right fit. Try to find an attorney who is willing to take on your case for the "reasonable attorney fee" that the employer must pay if it loses. Be slow to agree to advance expenses or to pay a percentage of a recovery to the attorney. Former employees often make the best plaintiffs, because the employer cannot easily retaliate.

When you experience or hear about workplace abuse, think of wage and hour law. Employers who abuse workers or who are obsessed with productivity are likely to be violating these laws.

[GalvestonDuck]

I have been working in the Grocery busness for off and on for 14 years and I have never had this problem at the other stores I worked.I got called to the office Wed. nite and the Co-manger telling me and the lead stocker have to put up the trucks,Block the whole store that also means Dairy and frozen food and stock milk also!!!Right now there is only me and the lead stocker and a 52000sq ft store!!!!AND we are not allowed to have overtime if we go over into overtime they FIRE us.They want us to work off the clock I guess Anothing problem is no help and people do not want to work 3rd shift anymore and plus the pay sucks!!!I have been with this company for 5 years now and its getting very bad!!Like tonite me and the lead stocker has to put up the truck and make the store look perfect at the same time and my hours run out after 6.5 before I get my 40 for the week.Should I talk to the labor board about whats gone on before me or the other guy dies of a heart attack or stroke???

Beer posted some good information above.

Also, do you belong to a union? I worked at Kroger during my senior year in high school and we were union (not that one year was long enough for me to truly experience what being in a union does). But if you do, isn't there a representative you can talk to also?

[GalvestonDuck]

Furthermore:

http://www.overtimepay.com/restaurant.htm#Work-off-

Grocery workers at a grocery chain have successfully sued to recover millions of dollars for "off-the-clock" work. The employees alleged they worked off-the-clock and their employer engaged in the following unlawful practices:
~punishing employees who fail to perform assignments within unrealistic time periods thereby encouraging and rewarding employees who perform work "off-the-clock" without compensation.
~instructing bookkeepers and others to record meal periods as non-worktime even where the employees worked through their meal periods
~reducing alleged salaried managers pay for disciplinary infractions for periods of less than a day. This can make the managers hourly workers eligible for FLSA overtime compensation.
~rewarding employees who work off-the-clock by commenting favorably on their working off-the-clock, and encouraging them to do so by suggesting promotions and other benefits may be tied to working off-the-clock.

and...

http://www.oregonworkplace.com/Library/ ... Claims.htm

[JenBayles]

I guess I tend to take the path of least resistance. I'd be looking for a new job pronto. Never have been one to immediately go the lawsuit route - too much hassle! Remember: Someone can only take advantage of you if you allow it.

I'm really sorry you find yourself in such an impossible situation. "Little Hitlers" exist in every profession. I just have to believe that eventually they will get theirs. I may not be there to see it happen, but what goes around comes around.

[Stephanie]

I'm really sorry you find yourself in such an impossible situation. "Little Hitlers" exist in every profession. I just have to believe that eventually they will get theirs. I may not be there to see it happen, but what goes around comes around.

I FIRMLY believe in that and I have been fortunate enough to witness it!

BEER and Duck have given you some very good information. I would start looking for another job but in the meantime talk to your manager. You don't need nor deserve that crap!

[Guest]

I'm really sorry you find yourself in such an impossible situation. "Little Hitlers" exist in every profession. I just have to believe that eventually they will get theirs. I may not be there to see it happen, but what goes around comes around.

I FIRMLY believe in that and I have been fortunate enough to witness it!

BEER and Duck have given you some very good information. I would start looking for another job but in the meantime talk to your manager. You don't need nor deserve that crap!

I am in the grocery business, and you put up with enough crap, I am sure. You don't need it! Actively search for another job, and then you can do what every grocery worker has wanted to do: give your 2-weeks!