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Not sure what to do or say with this job situation.

SleezydonkeySleezydonkey Registered User new member
I started this job at McDonald's a couple months ago because I needed extra cash for this college semester. Well the beginning of it was great, I worked with friendly helpful people and learned the ropes really quickly despite getting only 3 hours of training. All of a sudden the store got a new General Manager. She is actually very rude and mean to me and some other co-workers and to be honest she is a little intimidating. I'll call her GM
Anyways every since then I have not been getting hours at work....I went 3 weeks with only 5 hours a week. I asked the GM if I could get more hours because I am not making enough for my car payment and she happily wrote me in more days on the schedule. But every shift that I have had this month I have been sent home early. I started looking for a new job, found one, and put my two weeks notice in this Monday. When I handed in the letter of resignation I was told I could still work the rest of the days I was scheduled for; Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So Thursday I go in but 2 hours into my shift I was told to go home. This was after an employee who wasn't on the schedule came in. So basically they gave him the rest of my shift even though he was not on the schedule.
That was annoying but I came in Friday. The weather was bad and icy and snowy. When I came into work right as I got into the door I was told to go home because they didn't need me. They couldn't even bother to spend 30 seconds to call me and tell me not to come in. That was basically the last straw.
So today, Saturday, I threw up in the morning and wasn't feeling well. So 2 hours before my shift I called to tell them I was sick and couldn't come in today. 2 hour call is the policy. So I called, no answer. I tried calling 15 minutes later because I figured they were busy. No answer. I called 5 times between 1pm and 2pm because we don't have the option of leaving a message. I got the feeling they were ignoring me so I punched in *67 to block my caller ID for them and sure enough they answer on the second ring. The manager who answered sounded surprised and confused when I told them my name. This means that she was PURPOSELY ignoring my calls. Isn't that very unprofessional and rude? And my shift manager is put on the phone finally and I tell her I tried calling five times with no answer. I told her I wasn't felling well and she told me:
"You aren't allowed to call in on Fridays and Saturdays".
I told her I was throwing up and I didn't want to come in and be sick at work and she had a very bad attitude when she said "Okay then if you don't show up you don't have a job. Thanks, bye."
I was NEVER told I couldn't call in on Fridays and Saturdays. The only thing about attendance that I signed in my employee contract was to call 2 hours before my shift if I wanted to call in.
I have a shift tomorrow morning at 8am but I was basically told that I was "fired" or whatever, right? I know I am an at-will employee and they can fire me whenever without reason.

I am not going to show up at my 8am shift and just come in Thursday to get my paycheck...that may be kind of rude on my part but I was basically told not to come in anymore. The GM, the mean one, is probably going to call me tomorrow morning to yell at me or something, I just know it. This may be childish but I hate dealing with her in person.... I put my two weeks in already so losing this job isn't big deal but still I feel very disrespected and I feel like the managers have been unprofessional in the way they were treating me. What do I say to the GM if she calls? I have never shown up late to work and I always have a great attitude even when the managers are rude to me so I don't understand why they would treat me this way? I don't know if I am the one in the wrong in this or what.

Posts

  • InvisibleInvisible Registered User regular
    edited November 2013
    Well, the don't call out on Fridays and Saturdays is pretty standard at those kind of jobs. There's no way you could've known that, they should make exceptions for sick people but your managers seem like assholes. I wouldn't show up or worry about the job any longer. If the GM calls thank her for the job, but you've accepted a better position and will no longer be working for her. If she becomes rude just hang up. She has no more power over you and isn't worth the trouble.

    Invisible on
  • PedroAsaniPedroAsani Brotherhood of the Squirrel [Prime]Registered User regular
    You had a sucky McJob, and it's over. Be glad you aren't putting up with that kind of thing on a permanent basis and got out pretty quick.

  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    I would definitely call someone higher up and tell them your experiences with her. At least you have another job, and good riddance.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • E.CoyoteE.Coyote Registered User regular
    I thought you're not allowed to be at work in a food service job for at least 24 hours after you've been throwing up because of the risk of spreading food born illness.

  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    What state are you in? Some have call in laws, if you're scheduled to work you have to be paid x amount of hours regardless.

    As this job is already burnt I'd be looking at calling the Labor Department, the Health Department and then maybe her District Manager. If I wanted to have the organization not hate me I'd take that last one first and maybe hold off on the other two.

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • SleezydonkeySleezydonkey Registered User new member
    edited November 2013
    What state are you in? Some have call in laws, if you're scheduled to work you have to be paid x amount of hours regardless.

    As this job is already burnt I'd be looking at calling the Labor Department, the Health Department and then maybe her District Manager. If I wanted to have the organization not hate me I'd take that last one first and maybe hold off on the other two.

    I live in Colorado, as far as laws go I have no idea. I doubt there's any call in laws since it's McDonald's. If there is I am sure the other managers besides the GM wouldn't know about it since they are very young. It's 9:30am now for me and no call yet from the GM.
    I just goggled the laws: "For example, if an hourly employee arrives at work as directed by the employer, and the employer then immediately sends the employee home without the employee performing any work or waiting to perform work, the employer does not have to provide any compensation to the employee." As rude as it was for them to not give me a courtesy call it was legal by all means.

    Sleezydonkey on
  • JebusUDJebusUD Adventure! Candy IslandRegistered User regular
    E.Coyote wrote: »
    I thought you're not allowed to be at work in a food service job for at least 24 hours after you've been throwing up because of the risk of spreading food born illness.

    There are the rules And then there is life. Food service often has few people to replace you on short notice, and will push you around. Some places feel like they scheduled you so you should come in. It's bad for you and bad for the public, and probably bad for the company as you get coworkers get sick, but it happens often.

    Call the regional manager and explain the situation. And then let it go and don't stew too much. It's not your fault and you have something else lined up.

    I write you a story
    But it loses its thread
  • ThundyrkatzThundyrkatz Registered User regular
    I was thinking the same about the minimum hours thing, when you got sent home. But apparently CO does not do that.

    Show-up Time

    Colorado wage law does not require that an employer pay an employee for what is commonly referred to as "show-up time" or "reporting time pay". Employers are only required to pay employees for actual time worked, services rendered, or the time during which the employee was suffered or permitted to work, whether or not required to do so.

    For example, if an hourly employee arrives at work as directed by the employer, and the employer then immediately sends the employee home without the employee performing any work or waiting to perform work, the employer does not have to provide any compensation to the employee. Moreover, employers are not required by Colorado wage law to provide a certain amount of hours of work. For example, if an hourly employee shows up as scheduled for an 8-hour shift, only works for one hour and is then immediately sent home as directed by the employer, the employee is only owed for the one hour of actual work.
    From http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDLE-LaborLaws/CDLE/1248095305323

    But I will chime in with everyone else. Don;t go to any more shifts, you have a new job waiting for you. Be happy that this experience is behind you.

  • CliffCliff Registered User regular
    To echo: Living well is the best revenge. Mcdonalds is the last place you need to worry about. You probably would not need the reference even if you were still looking for another job. But the fact that you have already lined one up? You really have nothing to worry about. Don't show up, don't call, and if they call you, tell them to stuff it. There are a lot of companies where you need to worry about your last impression, this isn't one of them.

  • GaslightGaslight Registered User regular
    You could inform the higher-ups, regional manager or whoever, about what happened. It's kind of doubtful anything would happen, though. But if you have another job already lined up, there's really no reason to give this another thought. If your manager calls, you say nothing to her, you ignore her calls like they ignored yours. Collect your last check, burn and salt the ground on your way out.

  • ToxTox I kill threads he/himRegistered User regular
    Former McDonald's assistant manager here. *pushes up glasses*

    What they did was crap.

    As far as policies and everything goes, the problem is that about 80% of McDs are owned by someone other than the McD corp. So you have a lot of different franchises (it's nothing for a city with half a million people to have four different franchises), each with different rules.

    What you do have is a chain of command. That was the shift manager? Address the issue with the store manager. GM's a tool? District Manager, or whatever you have. If nothing else, there's the Franchisee, or if worst case there's the Liaison. THEY work for McD corp, and will gladly accept and address HR-type issues "on behalf" of the franchises.

    So, my advice? Roll out. You got canned, most likely because of performance or personality conflicts. Either you weren't working as hard/well as they wanted you to, or people just didn't get along with you. It doesn't matter which, you're part time, they can just take you off the schedule and send you home early basically at a whim. Ultimately what matters is that you're gone and have a new job. Tell your new boss you can start right away now and if they ask questions just tell them your old boss didn't take the news very well, and leave it at that (never gossip or talk trash about an old job at a new job, sets a bad atmosphere).

    And, as always, thank you for choosing McDonald's *ba-da-Bop-BOP-BAH!*

    Twitter! | Dilige, et quod vis fac
  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    JebusUD wrote: »
    E.Coyote wrote: »
    I thought you're not allowed to be at work in a food service job for at least 24 hours after you've been throwing up because of the risk of spreading food born illness.

    There are the rules And then there is life. Food service often has few people to replace you on short notice, and will push you around. Some places feel like they scheduled you so you should come in. It's bad for you and bad for the public, and probably bad for the company as you get coworkers get sick, but it happens often.

    Call the regional manager and explain the situation. And then let it go and don't stew too much. It's not your fault and you have something else lined up.

    The FDA would be very happy to field calls about that.

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • JebusUDJebusUD Adventure! Candy IslandRegistered User regular
    bowen wrote: »
    JebusUD wrote: »
    E.Coyote wrote: »
    I thought you're not allowed to be at work in a food service job for at least 24 hours after you've been throwing up because of the risk of spreading food born illness.

    There are the rules And then there is life. Food service often has few people to replace you on short notice, and will push you around. Some places feel like they scheduled you so you should come in. It's bad for you and bad for the public, and probably bad for the company as you get coworkers get sick, but it happens often.

    Call the regional manager and explain the situation. And then let it go and don't stew too much. It's not your fault and you have something else lined up.

    The FDA would be very happy to field calls about that.

    Do you have more information on this? Is there actually some number out there? I'm sure that would be helpful here.

    I write you a story
    But it loses its thread
  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    Pretty sure it's not the FDA for restaurants, you'd want your local Department of Health or whoever certifies them. Quick google turned up a little bit for Colorado like that.

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    edited November 2013
    I know any state here in the northeast specifically forbids employees who have any sort of nausea, diarrhea, or fever from handling food. I work in NH, and this is law in VT and MA as well. I'd be shocked if it wasn't actually federal or at least the case in every state since it is a massive risk on the part of the business. Edit: A quick google search is coming up with lots of FDA and DHHS links regarding exclusion of employees from handling food when they are showing those symptoms.

    Fuck those guys, though. You got out, and that's the important part.

    Shadowfire on
    WiiU: Windrunner ; Guild Wars 2: Shadowfire.3940 ; PSN: Bradcopter
  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    FDA handles food produced to go out for distributed sale, nobody from California is having some McDonalds shipped to them from Times Square. This is likely a limits of federal government thing (i.e. Even we can't stretch the Commerce Clause this far.)

    Regardless, Colorado's website had some regulations on it that boiled down to if you were vomiting or had diarrhea you weren't to be allowed to work in food service.

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    Pretty sure it's not the FDA for restaurants, you'd want your local Department of Health or whoever certifies them. Quick google turned up a little bit for Colorado like that.

    Ah yeah you're right, that was my bad.
    FDA handles food produced to go out for distributed sale, nobody from California is having some McDonalds shipped to them from Times Square. This is likely a limits of federal government thing (i.e. Even we can't stretch the Commerce Clause this far.)

    Regardless, Colorado's website had some regulations on it that boiled down to if you were vomiting or had diarrhea you weren't to be allowed to work in food service.

    It's 48 hours I think. The lowest I've seen is 24 in some states.

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • zagdrobzagdrob Registered User regular
    Move on and don't worry about it. You've got another job lined up already, and you don't really need to worry about a bad experience at your first 'McJob' impacting future hiring.

    Pretty much everyone I've known has either been fired or pulled a 'you can't fire me - I quit' over petty bullshit like this as a teenager working some entry level job. Report it up the chain if you wish, but the best bet is to go in, pick up your check on payday, and good riddance. If they were screwing with your hours like this, and you already had another job lined up, it's not worth sweating over.

    If the manager tries to give you a hard time, just insist you get paid for the hours you worked. If they shorted you on hours worked, which PROBABLY won't happen because it's a really big deal and illegal, just go right over GM's head to the DM or McDonalds corporate. They aren't going to risk bad PR over a couple hours pay.

  • ImaPiranhaImaPiranha Registered User regular
    I'm a big proponent of reporting bad experiences, so I would advise doing that. Go with what Tox says, if you're interested, and figure out who's above her. Call them and let them know the situation. Go up the chain until you get someone who you feel has actually listened to your situation. You've got a better job so it doesn't matter but the thing is that someone like that will continue to do what she can get away with as long as she gets away with it. you may not be able to do anything for yourself but live a better life, but you can maybe help the next guy or girl.

  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    edited November 2013
    ImaPiranha wrote: »
    I'm a big proponent of reporting bad experiences, so I would advise doing that. Go with what Tox says, if you're interested, and figure out who's above her. Call them and let them know the situation. Go up the chain until you get someone who you feel has actually listened to your situation. You've got a better job so it doesn't matter but the thing is that someone like that will continue to do what she can get away with as long as she gets away with it. you may not be able to do anything for yourself but live a better life, but you can maybe help the next guy or girl.

    This. You have no concerns about burning bridges here, and you may help the next person get out of a shitty situation.

    Also, a lot of the things I'm reading here your state's labor board may be very interested to hear. If you can back them up with dates and times the business may get a surprise inspection, and by the sounds of this manager, I guarantee her shit isn't in order.

    Edit: to give you an idea, I keep my paperwork up very well, but still ended up with a fine when I was inspected. The law in New Hampshire states that a business must pay its employees weekly, or if paying less frequently, have an official letter on file from the state allowing a semi-weekly (or whatever) pay period. This can't be at the corporate office, it must be available at every location. These are the sorts of things angry labor board inspectors look for, and you can make a bad manager have a very bad day.

    Shadowfire on
    WiiU: Windrunner ; Guild Wars 2: Shadowfire.3940 ; PSN: Bradcopter
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