So I know asking for perspective on a work situation in r/antiwork seems counterintuitive but, like, we're all held hostage in this end-stage capitalist hellscape together and hopefully y'all are less brainwashed and can help me get some dang perspective
SO, without further ado, the post that AITA rejected in favor of saving space for abject fiction:
I genuinely don't know if I'm being f-ed over or if I'm the jackass in this situation.
A few weeks ago, I got hurt at work. I missed two days between being sent home the day it happened and realizing I really needed to go to the doctor the next. Turns out it was a pretty decent injury, and I was given pretty major physical restrictions. I was not on the schedule for the entire week that followed, as they apparently had no available shifts that I could work with my injury. My doctor bills have been covered by workers' comp, but, as of right now, it has not covered any lost wages.
Fast forward about a week later -nsomeone tells me about a job that just became available. It's the next step in my career and a great opportunity (and it doesn't have the risk of me getting hurt again). Once I got to the interview stage, I told all of my higher-ups about it, as I did not want to burn bridges or blindside anyone with my notice of resignation. I find out afterwards that two other members of my department gave their two week notice a few days before I did.
The interview went great and I was formally offered the position a day later. I called my manager to tell them before I put in my notice, and I sent a great notice of resignation with a business-professional level of ass-kissing. At that time, I had not been on the schedule for 3 days, and was not scheduled for another two. I give my start date for the new job two weeks out.
Day after my notice, our schedule gets sent out. I am not on it for the entire week, and my name is not even on it. At this point, I'm looking down the barrel of 9 days with no work and no wage. The only other names missing are the other two who resigned.
I (this is where I may be the asshole, idiot, or none of the above) assume this means they're done with me or, at the very least, using my two weeks as a reason to prioritize giving shifts to people who aren't quitting (it's the slow season for us so hours are hard.) The other two who resigned are also absent from the schedule.
At this point, I assume I'm done. I update my new job with a start date 5 days before my two weeks expires. As of my start date, I have not had a single shift since three days before I gave notice.
Fast forward again to today, 9 days after my two week notice and 11 days since my last shift, and the day I start my new job. My manager from my former place of employment shoots me a text to tell me I have to work a double on New Years Eve. My restrictions pertaining to my injury have not changed since they first stopped scheduling me, so it's not like my doctor had just cleared me to return to my full duties. Nothing has changed health-wise since they stopped scheduling me and, if I hadn't started my new job this week, I would have gone a full half a month with zero income, as I was not given a single shift for a full two week pay period.
At first I was like “aaaa of course I'll suck it up, cancel my plans, and just do it; I'm still in my two week period” but, after thinking about it for a bit, I realized they gave me one long-ass shift, alone, on a holiday, after literally fourteen days of giving me no hours. It's pretty obvious that, since I'm leaving, they want to stick me with the long holiday hours so everyone else can enjoy themselves and, after thinking about it, I'm contemplating telling them I'm unavailable and will not be coming in for the shift.
I'm super torn re: what to do and genuinely do not know who is the asshole in the situation or at what point my actions would designate me the asshole. Most of me is paralyzed with fear at the thought of anyone being mad at me, the small part of me with a backbone says “no call no show (but maybe email the HR person in advance re: why I won't be coming in)”, and a teeny logical voice in the way back of my mind is telling me I should know the finer details of labor laws and I've probably been illegally screwed at some point throughout all this.
TL;DR my job didn't schedule me for a full two weeks and then told me I have to cover NYE for them. I've started a new job since, as I have not been on the schedule since three days before I put in my two week notice. My normal passive instincts tell me to bend over and take it, but the ballsy voice in the back of my mind says they can eat a dick. I can't step back and view it objectively for some reason, so I'm at a total loss regarding what to do.