In the early months of 2021, I was staying with my partner and their family and I was desperately trying to find work. My partner’s mom works for a grocery store, and she suggested I apply there. I did, but found work elsewhere shortly after applying, and thought nothing else of it.
Today, in January of 2023, nearly TWO YEARS later, I get an email from the store’s HR department turning down my application. My partner, who also works at the store when they go home for school holidays, has been told by management multiple times that they “can’t get people to apply”.
These same managers told my partner they’d be written up if they missed work to drive me to the airport when my mom was suddenly on life support four states away, saying “We’re too understaffed for you to miss your shift.”