Thrift Store I worked for, for over 4 years decided to sell to another organization. We were given a time frame of September 30th, 2022, for our last day. But Hurricane season in Florida put the sale on hold indefinitely, no one was told about the new date. Fast forward to November 29th, 2022. Coming back home from Thanksgiving weekend, I opened up the store. And was working for over 30 min when I noticed neither my co-worker or manager was there. Finally get a hold of them and one had a flight delay and the other a family emergency. Was told by the board director of the facility to close the store for the day. So I do. Arrive to work the next morning, November 30th, 2022. I noticed people I never seen before, starting to install new equipment. Was told the sale of the building went through. And that today *Nov 30th* would be my last day working for the employer I worked for, the last 4 years. And that the next following day *DEC 1st* I would be working for the new owners. New owners called me into the office about an hour later and terminated me because I expressed interest in staying on for a slightly better wage. Mind you I was only making 11 dollars an hour and was only asking for 12.50 to 13 an hour. Final check comes in, I noticed it's only for 10 days of work. And with a pay period of November 14th through November 27th, 2022. The 29th and the 30th aren't on the check, so I figured it was because it was a different pay period. December 15th rolls around, no check, I explain to former employer I'm missing two days of work. Silence. And now it's January and still nothing.
Now here is where it's super sketchy. The entire time I worked for this thrift store, we never used time cards and I was paid by the hour. Manager would text the hours to the owners. I noticed the hours were always even, even if we started a little early. And no extra minuets were added if we had to stay longer because of customers not wanting to leave store/took a little bit longer to count the cash back. I knew it was illegal, but I stupidly kept working because I didn't want to lose my job. Now I can prove I was at the thrift store on Nov 29th and Nov 30th thanks to Google Maps, Lynx Bus tix receipts, and text messages. But the last 4 years will be tricky (only have Google Maps to prove) to prove. Turning it all into the Labor Board tomorrow, at the very least, I'll get my last two days. Waiting on background check for a different job. Wish me luck!