Walmart Fired me today for insabornation

Ragnar47183

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fenrizz said:
Ragnar47183 said:
Thats called a job. Get used to it.

They sign your paychecks so you do what they want. If you dont like it then you should find another job or wait until you get fired.
That is called being taken advantage of.
How? How is the OP being taken advantage of in this situation? Please expand.
 

fenrizz

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Ragnar47183 said:
fenrizz said:
Ragnar47183 said:
Thats called a job. Get used to it.

They sign your paychecks so you do what they want. If you dont like it then you should find another job or wait until you get fired.
That is called being taken advantage of.
How? How is the OP being taken advantage of in this situation? Please expand.
Having to blindly do what your boss tells you just because he is the boss, no matter if you are forced to work outside your designated area and/or work hours for extended periods of time without being compensated, then fired on the spot for refusing to do so.

Although I was not specifically referring to the OP with my statement.
Just the genereal idea that your boss can force you to do whatever he damn well pleases and tough luck if you don't like it.
 

ActionDan

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I know that feeling. I Worked for a Morrisons store (supermarket here in the UK) that had just opened. I done, and asked for more overtime than anyone in the department I worked in. I came down with a rather nasty infection that put me in bed for 2 days, missing two shifts of work, and I even turned up for work on the next shift, even though I was still feeling extremely rough. Those were only 15 hours, mind you. I had done at least double that in overtime, and they still fired me because of it.

I was colossally pissed off that day.
 

paragon1

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Ragnar47183 said:
Nurb said:
Ragnar47183 said:
Thats called a job. Get used to it.

They sign your paychecks so you do what they want. If you dont like it then you should find another job or wait until you get fired.
Telling people to deal with being hired for a spesific job but do work of higher paid employees without compensation is BS and not something people should tolerate. Especially in corner-cutting retail where companies try to screw you out of pay at every chance they get while demanding complete loyalty at the same time without doing anything to earn it.

I have a feeling you watch fox news or listen to talk radio alot.
I dont watch fox news or listen to talk radio but nice try. Lets be honest here. OP is working a job at a retail store. He has no value in the eyes of his employer and can be easily replaced. If he doesn't want to do the job there are 20 other people that will.

This isn't a pediatrician being asked to performed a heart transplant. This is a store clerk being asked to bring in carts and such.

paragon1 said:
Ragnar47183 said:
Thats called a job. Get used to it.

They sign your paychecks so you do what they want. If you dont like it then you should find another job or wait until you get fired.
Wrong. They get to ask you to do what they hired you to do. Everyone that works for Walmart signed a contract with them that specified what that job would entail. If I remember right, it also specifies what areas of the store you will work in, so there's a very good chance they violated Veldie's employment agreement. They also shouldn't be violating safety laws and their own company policies by sending employees outside without safety gear, or assigning them new tasks without training (surely I don't need to state why this is bad for everyone involved?).

But managers get away with this crap all the time because employees don't know their rights, or because they (rightly!) fear being wrongfully fired if they demand those rights be respected. Just because someone pays you money doesn't mean they get to treat you however they want, and it certainly doesn't mean they get to ignore the law.

Veldie, you got a bum rap, and I hope you can find better work soon. How you were treated was absolutely unacceptable. You may want to seriously consider talking to a lawyer about a wrongful termination suit, though I certainly understand if you don't feel this is an option.
I don't believe they sign contracts to work at wal mart. Wal Mart is a multi billion dollar company. I am positive they have their legal tracks covered when it comes to this stuff. Employers only have to provide training where OSHA demands it and I doubt bringing in carts falls under that.

Unless evidence is shown otherwise I would assume no safety laws were broken in this process and it is strange you assume the worse on the employers part and complete innocence on the employees part.

OP I would highly recommend you don't follow above posters advice to seek out help from a lawyer as you don't have a leg to stand on here and it would be a waste of time and money. Your time is better spent on getting a degree and a higher quality job. (Good luck I hope you can)
Yes, you sign an employment agreement with Walmart when you start working there, which is a form of contract. I know this because I signed one myself. I am assuming the worst of Walmart because they have a long, long history of this kind of abuse, and the OPs post is hardly unique. You are normally hired to work a specific part of the store, like the front end (chashier, greeter, customer service cart pusher), the floor (grocery, clothing, electronics, etc.), or the back end unloading trucks and sorting inventory. It is highly unusually for an employee to be asked to work outside of their area.

You are right that I have no idea if any safety laws were broken however. On rereading the OPs post I have no idea if they actually broke any laws, and I was probably projecting my personal bad experiences onto his/her situation. I was often asked to work outside at night with no safety vest and in conditions I wasn't dressed for. I was never trained to operate any of the equipment or in any safety procedures for handling large amounts of carts. So apologies OP, seeking legal help probably would be pretty rash at this stage. I still strongly encourage you to know your rights, and continue to stand up for yourself.
 

MeChaNiZ3D

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You stood up for yourself and did the justifiable, fair thing, and your employers are assholes. But in the real world sometimes you work for assholes, and until you have a job that requires your specific skills, they're going to be able to pull whatever shit they like because there's always someone willing to take your spot. You doing favours for your employer, meaning duties outside of those that were stated as constituting your job when you were hired, should be firmly in the realm of your own discretion. Naturally, there are laws against unfair dismissal, but laws aren't meant to be used by just anyone, you need money.

EDIT: Although I am presuming you got your duties and any allowances in that area in writing when you were hired. If not you don't really have a leg to stand on.
 

Ragnar47183

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fenrizz said:
Ragnar47183 said:
fenrizz said:
Ragnar47183 said:
Thats called a job. Get used to it.

They sign your paychecks so you do what they want. If you dont like it then you should find another job or wait until you get fired.
That is called being taken advantage of.
How? How is the OP being taken advantage of in this situation? Please expand.
Having to blindly do what your boss tells you just because he is the boss, no matter if you are forced to work outside your designated area and/or work hours for extended periods of time without being compensated, then fired on the spot for refusing to do so.

Although I was not specifically referring to the OP with my statement.
Just the genereal idea that your boss can force you to do whatever he damn well pleases and tough luck if you don't like it.
Your right. Not being compensated for work is wrong. It has nothing to do with OP though so Im not sure why this matters. Also there is a difference between "Blindly" following your boss or just doing what you are told. Most of these minimum wage employees are "at will" which means they can be fired for any reason as long as its not related to gender/ethnics/ ect ect.
 

suitepee7

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ActionDan said:
I know that feeling. I Worked for a Morrisons store (supermarket here in the UK) that had just opened. I done, and asked for more overtime than anyone in the department I worked in. I came down with a rather nasty infection that put me in bed for 2 days, missing two shifts of work, and I even turned up for work on the next shift, even though I was still feeling extremely rough. Those were only 15 hours, mind you. I had done at least double that in overtime, and they still fired me because of it.

I was colossally pissed off that day.
UK supermarket chains like to put things in neat little boxes. your overtime was one box. your sickness was a completely different one. you mentioned it had just opened, how long had you been there? idk about morrissons, but a couple of the others (one of which i work for) have a pretty strict probation period, and it is entirely at the manager's discretion whether they bother keeping you on. i also tend to find that some departments are considerably worse in terms of managers (where i work the checkout and daytime floor managers are almost always assholes, people in bakery, cafe and night staff are usually pretty decent).

all that aside, it does suck being fired for just that. i always have an issue with disciplinary meetings and being fired for being ill. it's not like you could help it, and constantly working around food isn't the best place to be ill
 

paragon1

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Ragnar47183 said:
I am coming at this post as a business owner myself. To many instantly cry foul at a company for anything that happens. Everyone wants everything for nothing.
Pretty sure most people want enough money to live and respect in exchange for their labor. Certainly not "something for nothing".
Ragnar47183 said:
An employee should never be a business partner and its amazing you would think something like that.
Publix and every worker's co-op ever disagrees with you.

Ragnar47183 said:
In a lot of cases people are fighting the wrong thing. I could easily employee two additional employees if my business wasnt taxed into the ground by our government. Not to say there arent some horrible conditions in workplaces that need to be corrected in some places but in this instance the employer did nothing wrong.
This is crap, you'd do what every other business owner with a brain would do and pocket the additional profit. You have no reason to hire more people unless the demand exits for more of whatever service or product you provide. Also, if everyone else doesn't get to assume fault on Walmart's part, maybe you shouldn't assume fault on the OP's part? As I admitted in a previous post we don't exactly know much about what happened.

Ragnar47183 said:
Also "Walmart would have to either scrounge for idiots, the high schoolers, or the massively desperate" they already do this.
And unsurprisingly this creates a massive power imbalance with their employees which enables them to get away with all sorts of abuse.
 

paragon1

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deshara128 said:
Part of the contract of employee expectations that they (are supposed to?) make you initial next to every item of is that it's part of your job to cover any position management wants you to, pay or no.
That said, I feel you bro. That shit sucks. I got transfered to a new store cause they were shorthanded earlier this winter, and after day 1 was told to stop worrying about my department (fresh meat) because they desperately needed help in other, more important departments for the holidays-- electronics and toys were both short handed, so every day I did over-nights singehandedly manning those two departments while also covering for the CSM every other day, doing lockups and walkups and customer service and watching for theft every minute of every work day for a month. Then january 1st the managers of electronics and toys got back from their december vacations and I was fired because "the fresh meat department had lost sales over the month".
Fortunately for me I was going through wayyy worse than that at the time so frankly putting up with doing 3 manager's jobs at once without the pay and getting bitched at for not doing to-completion the collective jobs of all of the employees that should have been under those managers was, for me anyway, a break from my complete shut-down as a human being.
So yeah. As much as I love doing retail, retail sucks. Fortunately, it turns out that the military reserve pays at least $1,500 a month for every month you're in all-expenses paid school and doesnt ask a whole lot of you for it so long as you'll be in state for 6 years, so you could always drop by the local MEPS and take the entrance exam on a good day and see what you could do. Next year I'll be a medical lab tech and 20 grand the richer for it.

But, I digress. Retail sucks, hang in there buddy. Getting out, no matter how, could turn out to be a blessing
Yeah, your probably right, it's been a while since I signed the damn thing. Retail sucks OP, I hope you find a better job soon.
 

jshrike

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I kind of agree with the whole "It's called a job" thing. Like...that's really what it boils down to. It's a job. You're getting paid to do it. Nobody is being taken advantage of. Everyone arguing about a contract is pretty much overlooking the fact that at will employment works both ways. You either agree to do what they're asking or you find another job. Welcome to the real world.


That said, there absolutely nothing about that which means it doesn't suck. Every retail store is like that, as are most other places that aren't like career specific. They expect people to know and work every division/department if needed. It kind of moves workers from the 'people' category to just being a warm body. It sucks and it kind of diminishes someone's self worth. I completely support the OP's inclination to stand up against that crap, and I really hope everything works out. The sad part is that there probably were not any employee right issues violated, which means the OP needs to follow the advice already given and get as far away from the crap hole that is retail as possible.
 

chadachada123

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Ragnar47183 said:
chadachada123 said:
He's half-right. His mentality is wrong, but his answer (if you don't like it, leave it) is correct. If more workers stood up to employer bullshit and didn't accept minimum wage if the business makes such fuck-huge amounts of money, then the power dynamic would shift from "They [the business] owns you" to "You and them are business partners."

I doubt that Ragnar has that in mind, given his phrasing, but we shouldn't think of businesses as some magical entity with unlimited power. All it takes is enough workers with the balls to fight for what they feel is right to change things for the better.

If EVERY Walmart worker refused in the manner of the OP, and were accordingly fired, Walmart would have to either scrounge for idiots, the high schoolers, or the massively desperate, or change their policies/ideology.
In this case "employer bullshit" is wrong because I don't see anything wrong with what the manager did. It doesnt matter how much money a company makes. That has nothing to do with what they pay their employees. Why do you think an employee who has never had to invest in capital or take risks or work on building the company should have any right to determine how much money they make? An employee should never be a business partner and its amazing you would think something like that.

In a lot of cases people are fighting the wrong thing. I could easily employee two additional employees if my business wasnt taxed into the ground by our government. Not to say there arent some horrible conditions in workplaces that need to be corrected in some places but in this instance the employer did nothing wrong.
Paragon1 responded mostly in line with what I would have responded, but there are three points I'd like to make:

1) As I noted, most of this only applies to fuck-huge businesses like Walmart that could easily pay their workers $20 more an hour and only need to charge several cents more per item to recoup the cost. At least, according to this study:

http://www.local881ufcw.org/pdfs/legislative_action_policy_and_research/living_wage_and_walmart.pdf

Now, if a business owner, personally, make large amounts of money, and doesn't pass a fair portion of that onto those that made it possible for him/her, then he's just as greedy as the owners of Walmart, or practically any corporate CEO, and does not deserve my money, nor do they deserve my (or any other's) labor.

2) Employees ARE business partners. You pay them in exchange for labor. If it were actually treated like that, instead of treated practically akin to serfdom, society would have far fewer troubles.

3) Regulations do fuck things up quite a bit against small businesses, while large ones (like Walmart) can have all the regulation in the world while still raking in billions.
 

putowtin

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Jonathan Canterbury said:
No, if you show initiative, work hard, and don't ***** when you're asked to increase your work load, that's called work ethic and that's how you get promoted to higher paid positions.
Agreed, if all you do is moan when you're asked to do a little more then don't be surprised if they show you the door.

My job title is Postgraduate recruitment officer, I look after people applying for PhD's EdD and MPhils, I also:
*Run open days
*Arrange interview for all degree courses
*Act as PA to the two heads of school
*Act as PA to a Prof who hates everyone including me
*Look after students undertaking PGCE's in 50+ schools

as well as dropping everything if there's an emergency in the University. I could moan, I could say "I ain't doing that" but I know there's over a quarter of a million people unemployed in Yorkshire alone who would be more than happy to fill my shoes.

"It isn't in my job description" is the weakest excuse in the book, take on more responsibility people and see where it takes you!
 

jklinders

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Retail is pretty much the bottom rung of employment.

Even food service workers of any level get more respect and courtesy on the job than retail workers. My advice? Don't work retail until such time as they are so starved for staff that they have no choice but to learn how to treat their workers like human beings. Workers in retail are expected to just sit back and take it when customers hurl abuse at them for bullshit that is the customers fault. Smile and nod when they lie through their teeth about the reasons for returns and all that. Christ, back when I worked at a call center, 3 out of every 4 bill inquiries involved customers lying about how many minutes they were using on their plans when I could see, and they knew I could see in black and white exactly what they were using. Not only was I required not to call them full of shit like the lying shits richly deserved, not only was I required to accept the abuse they often doled out, I was also often expected to reward their abuse and lying with account credits. And retail people have it worse than that because they are sometimes physically assaulted by these same entitled assholes.

Just don't work retail. A fry cook at Mc Ds gets more respect, courtesy and career advancement opportunities.

@Ragnar47183, I never ran a business, but I have been in management of one. I suppose it's fine to play the whole "everyone needs to chip in to help the company" card every now and again but to do it constantly speaks of colossal incompetence as they are in this case constantly getting someone to fill in in areas that are not their specialty and doing so seemingly to save money on payroll and their own time on hiring rather than from need. Someone who is fully up to speed on an area is always more desirable than having a part time fill in, so if even half of the OP's story is true, the manager is an idiot and lazy to boot. Also, depending on what business you do run, I would consider it unwise and combative to project your own issues with your staff on this story. You know no more about the OP than I know of your management style. I never had the problems with "staff entitlement" you mentioned. And none of us were the best paid folks out there.
 

Ragnar47183

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paragon1 said:
Ragnar47183 said:
I am coming at this post as a business owner myself. To many instantly cry foul at a company for anything that happens. Everyone wants everything for nothing.
Pretty sure most people want enough money to live and respect in exchange for their labor. Certainly not "something for nothing".
Ragnar47183 said:
An employee should never be a business partner and its amazing you would think something like that.
Publix and every worker's co-op ever disagrees with you.

Ragnar47183 said:
In a lot of cases people are fighting the wrong thing. I could easily employee two additional employees if my business wasnt taxed into the ground by our government. Not to say there arent some horrible conditions in workplaces that need to be corrected in some places but in this instance the employer did nothing wrong.
This is crap, you'd do what every other business owner with a brain would do and pocket the additional profit. You have no reason to hire more people unless the demand exits for more of whatever service or product you provide. Also, if everyone else doesn't get to assume fault on Walmart's part, maybe you shouldn't assume fault on the OP's part? As I admitted in a previous post we don't exactly know much about what happened.

Ragnar47183 said:
Also "Walmart would have to either scrounge for idiots, the high schoolers, or the massively desperate" they already do this.
And unsurprisingly this creates a massive power imbalance with their employees which enables them to get away with all sorts of abuse.
"This is crap, you'd do what every other business owner with a brain would do and pocket the additional profit. You have no reason to hire more people unless the demand exits for more of whatever service or product you provide. Also, if everyone else doesn't get to assume fault on Walmart's part, maybe you shouldn't assume fault on the OP's part? As I admitted in a previous post we don't exactly know much about what happened."

Thanks for proving my point. People automatically think business owners and corps are evil. I am not assuming fault on the ops part. Please point to where i do.
 

CpT_x_Killsteal

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Ragnar47183 said:
I think its naive to take OPs words at face value. Its never good to hear one side of a story with an extremely biased source. I dont think wal mart would have any problems getting another cashier if they need one. He wasn't not getting paid. He is claming to be getting paid "less" than other employees for the same job. (which is no illegal btw).
I doubt Walmart's could be any less biased. They'll look out for themselves and no one else.
And he's not talking about a pay gap margin between him and someone else in the same position. The OP stated he was being made to work in higher paying areas, in a different position than he was employed for, for the same pay as the lower area.
 

paragon1

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God why am I still awake?

Anyway, Ragnar: I didn't call you evil. I described what any rational person would do. If you had the work for more people to do at a profit you would hire them regardless of taxation (unless you are somehow being taxed so heavily that you can't turn a profit, in which case you have bigger problems). Lower taxes on your business doesn't automatically mean you have more work for people to do. I wouldn't want you to hire people to stand around and do nothing!

Lower taxation doesn't create incentive for job growth in an economy, increased demand does. I don't assume small business owners or corps are evil, I know Walmart frequently engages in abusive practices with its employees. Whether you consider that evil is up to you.

You never stated that the OP was at fault but you certainly implied it by saying the management did nothing wrong (something that is as impossible for you to know as it is for me to know that any laws have been broken). If you didn't intend to convey that then I apologize for putting words in your mouth.
 

rdaleric

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I used to work for the local council, we were told to sign a new contract ( under threat of being sacked if we didn't) which added a section to our job description along the lines of " any other duties as deemed needed by the service" which meant our superiors could give us any job to do, no matter how out of our pay scale it was and we couldn't say no
 

Leonardo Huizar

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Hi there everybody, I am in fact a Walmart employee... and i do have somethings to say here
Veldie said:
So yesterday after a solid week of pulling me and making me do stuff in every department that is a higher paygrade then mine and talking down to me because I didnt want to work up front as a cashier all day I refused to do it and *told a manager no because I am payed less then the other people who are supposed to work those area's.
"Higher paygrade" you mean a department manager, support manager, co-manager, or the store manager... because the only grunt work i can think of is me for instance Overnight stocker, daytime associate, backroom ICS[inventory], stockman [carts], maintenance, deli, bakery, office, claims, grocery, truck unloader, & cashier and you are required to trained by floor & computer courses.
The only reason associates get moved around in different departments is because theyre terrible there and the management moves them around to find a section that is easy for them but what does that have to do with higher paygrade="people who have been with the company longer"?

Veldie said:
They fired me for it because I refused to work higher paying area's when I would not get that area's pay and its not a off shot once in a blue moon its every day I work and im always in trouble because I never had time to cover toys properly and make sure its decent.
Im a 340lb diabetic man whose currently exhausted from his gym membership and 5 days a week I work Sodas, water, popcorn, chips, nuts, sparkling water, cookies, water cases, & crackers [3 aisles] plus my cardboard, plastic, the cardboard baler, and i move my own freight because truck unloaders are blind to what section freight actually belongs in.

If you got fired from the overnight crew then youre probably better suited to a easier job like day or evening crew which is like EASY-BEGINNER MODE... and if you got fired from day/evening you get no sympathy from me for not being able to handle such an easy position.

Oh, before anyone says "Whats it like working for satan?" I will then return with "Whats it like using technology made by conflict minerals dug up by starving children from Africa?"