Corporate fires towel-folder

[LillFilly]

Yes, you read that right!

I was talking to an employee at one of our stores and she happened to mention that she'd gotten fired from the last hair salon she worked at. Why?

She had just clocked-out from her shift. She was riding home with another employee, and had a few minutes to kill before they too clocked-out. So she took some of the clean towels from the wash and was folding them while she waited. Some busybody SC of a customer saw her doing this and complained to corporate that she was working off the clock. She had no clue that the SC had complained about her until a manager arrived the next day and fired her, without even asking ANY details.

My faith in humanity just died a little more.

[The Last to Know]

I got fired from a doctor's office for helping patients while off the clock. I had just clocked out for lunch & as I was getting ready to go to the kitchen to get my food an older couple were coming up to check out - I hadn't realized there were any more patients in the building it was 30 minutes into the doctors hour lunch. While helping them I got my bosses attention (she was on salary & sitting in her office) & quietly let her know I had clocked out already because she already got me in trouble for every tiny little thing (she didn't like having a gay woman work for her) & she came up & loudly told me to go on to lunch & she would finish - then after I left encouraged the patients to complain to the main hospital that I was helping them after clocking out.

[rageaholic]

I don't know who's suckier, the SC, or the managers who fired her.

Why would a customer even care if she's working off the clock? Does it effect them in any way? Jeez.

[Stormraven]

Especially ironic when you consider how many SCs want employees to work off the clock.

[Plaidman]

Hmm.

1: How would the customer even know? Furthermore, why would they care?

I work off the clock alot. So did Ash, theheadofdoom here does too. Why? We cared for our fellow coworkers, though now I don't give a shit.


But I can see why they fire her. 99 percent of all employee handbooks strictly prohbit it for good reasons.

1: Its illegal.
2: If something goes wrong, the worker can sue, for several reasons, getting hurt, or lying to corporate or lawyers stating they HAD to work without being paid, (despite before the worker got mad at the place/boss, she or he always did it to help).

It just alot of bad stuff.

[Mystic]

Yah, it's a liability issue on the company side. Blame lies with how sue happy society has become.

Hell, it's gotten to the point where a person can sue a township for their little snowflake falling on the concrete at a playground and skinning their knee. Meanwhile, I have fond memories of going airborne on the Merry-Go-Round.

[dalesys]

...I have fond memories of going airborne on the Merry-Go-Round.

Cosby: Teeter-totters. A lot of kids never got to have a deep voice because...

[underemployeed]

Yeah, I love how everyone has a law degree these days, love all the people know "the law" when they come into our store. I'm sorry but random SC asking if me giving directions to a sweet lost old lady is not working off the clock and has nothing to do with my actual job because I don't work at a vistor center, I work at random gas station of the interstate but be get the usual "I completely lost" (because they can't follow step by step directions in the first place or my fav "I didn't beleive my GPS").

[elsporko]

I don't always believe my GPS but only because it doesn't realize tiny two line county roads where the speed limit is 35 aren't faster then the highway even if the highway route takes an extra five miles.

As for working off the clock, if I couldn't do that I would be in so much trouble. I always stick around for a few minutes or start early if I need to. Of course my job has alot of down time so I figure its a fair tradeoff.

[HYHYBT]

A wonderful feature on the office computer: Edit Time Punch. It may not be available everywhere, but it's very simple: if you wind up working a few minutes past when you punched out, get whoever can do it to move your punch a few minutes later. Problem solved.

More often, we used it when someone forgot to punch entirely, either coming or going, but it's perfect for this sort of thing.

[Imprl59]

My guess would be that the SC called and :"warned" corporate that this was happening, not that she called to complian (but what do i know). As others have said this is a HUGE liability issue for the company. At one point I worked for a company that was forced in to backruptcy over employees working off the clock. Employee one works off the clock until they get mad about something then they lawyer up and end up getting paid off, employee 2 sees that #1 got a fat check so suddenly they worked off the clock too then next thing you know there's a class action suit. Lather, rinse and repeat a few dozen time and bankruptcy was the only option left to stop it.

I was on the inside of that one.... we had people claiming to have worked off the clock at a time they weren't even emplyed with the company. We even had a few people claiming they worked off the clock while they were in the big house.

Steve B.

[Megg]

I never ever worked off the clock, if I was clocked out, that was it. I loved my coworkers and all (well, some of 'em haha!) but I don't work for free. I can see why an employer would have a zero tolerance policy, but the confusing part is why the customer felt the need to stick her nose in it. The second story ... well, that supervisor's got some bad karma headed her way!

Meanwhile, I have fond memories of going airborne on the Merry-Go-Round.

I wouldn't really call them good, but it makes me sad my daughter will never puke cause her big brother wanted to see how fast it would really go.

[MrSmiley]

A wonderful feature on the office computer: Edit Time Punch. It may not be available everywhere, but it's very simple: if you wind up working a few minutes past when you punched out, get whoever can do it to move your punch a few minutes later. Problem solved.

More often, we used it when someone forgot to punch entirely, either coming or going, but it's perfect for this sort of thing.

That may actually be illegal also, for different reasons. *shrugs*. Then again, I just realized what I typed was hypocritical because I have a job where I can add time to my "clock" if I deem my reason for staying isn't a result of my own actions (and have, usually only by 30 minutes if busy... unless some crisis is going on)