Tell me about it, 15 months and rolling.

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So maybe someone here is familiar enough with work regulations in the United States. I got a job at a local grocery store, family owned. They work me 6 hour shifts regularly. 5 to 11, closing. They say that working 6 hours, I only get one (1) ten minute break. If I worked over 6 hours, I'd get two (2) ten minute breaks and a 30 minute lunch. Every single time I work 6 hour shifts, I end up working 6 hours and.... 10 minutes. Yet they STILL won't approve me for maybe a second ten minute break? I believe that every 2 or probably 3 hours of work, OSHA says its break time. So how/why do I work from 5-9 before getting my first and only break. Four hours in. So my complaint is multi-faceted. What can I do? Other workers have been grumbling more quietly. I already brought it up nicely to the boss and he said he'd look into it ... which basically meant "go away".

So I worked 4th of July yesterday. 2:30-11. All day and closing. I turn to the assistant manager and ask if its time and a half for holiday pay. He says "Well, yes and no. You're new... so you don't get any holiday pay until you've worked here for at least 6 months" and I laughed out loud so loudly. And I knew he was being serious, but I laughed a riotous laugh. Slapped my knee, literally. And said "You're joking, right" and he said no. And I say "Seriously, that seems .... illegal. If that's legal, that is dumb" Oh I'm new so I don't deserve holiday pay like everyone else that's working today... hurr durr" and yes, that's a quote. He just goes "Yeah........." and walked away.

What kind of ****ery is this. Either they did their homework really well and know the legal loopholes. And those loopholes need to be ****ing demolished. OR I need to get on a small claims/class action [never done that before, but I've also never been so blatantly kicked in the balls before]. Maybe after the 6 month marker so if I get canned I might be able to fall on unemployment. I only want to have that safety net because with what I'm seeing and hearing, I wouldn't put it past these greedy ****s to fire me for whistleblowing.

I didn't get holiday pay because i didn't work "full time" technically. They would schedule 38-39 hour weeks, while 40 is full time.

Thing is nobody there worked full time.

Sounds shady as my coworkers who work part time get two 15 minute breaks and holiday/time and a half. Try this link and contact them.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...vQLvaQ&cad=rja

what state are you in?

and are they a "right to work" state?

It's Oregon. Sorry, should have mentioned I guess.

I've heard of right to work, but I'm not sure.


Sounds like a similar shade of shady.

@Fred Hale Sr.

Thank you for that.

Oregon isn't a right to work state, at least according to Wikipedia. :)

I've heard so many horror stories like that from people over the last 4-5 years about employers taking every shortcut they can to save costs. It almost seems like many of them are trying to see how far they can push it, knowing how many people are so desperate to work or keep their job. I can't say I've ever really been in a situation like that because I've always been union or it's been within the family.

This is what it seems like to me, yeah...

I'm exhausted at the end of an 8 hour shift. They have me running back and forth every couple minutes from frontend to backroom. My feet are killing me from last nights shift still. I told my assistant manager I didn't know this was a fat camp when I applied :afro:

But in all seriousness, I've never had an employer work me so hard and treat me like dirt. I'm kinda used to getting dicked around be employers, but at least at my other jobs, the work was minimal. :D

If you're on the schedule for 6 hours then that's all that matters. If you really don't want to feel like you're getting "cheated" by losing out on a ****ing 10 minute break then stop working once you've hit 6 hours and go home. There are no federal laws or OSHA provisions requiring an employer to even give you a break, and there are only 7 or 8 states right now that have regulations regarding breaks. So the fact that you live in a state which does provide for breaks, which are paid by the way, means you have it better than probably 80% of the workers in the United States. Aside from that my only advice is suck it up, you work 6 hours a day...

Not to mention at a market im sure you can slip out from time to time and have a cig or go take a crap for 10 minutes.