i live in California. i started a new (alcohol and food service) job 2 months ago. i had applied a month before anyone ever got back to me, i followed up by phone and in person multiple times but the manager was always out of town or had taken a day off. my first training day was postponed because she called off.
i am always on time, constantly stay late, and am always covering for the manager and other employees. i work in multiple departments of this facility.
this past week, i covered for the manager on Sunday, and stayed the full shift even though my mom was admitted to the hospital. i let her know on Sunday night that i may need to call out on Monday if my mom went into emergency surgery. sure enough, she did, so i didn’t work my shift on Monday. i was back covering for the manager on Tuesday, and worked my shift on Wednesday, and on Thursday someone in a different department called out so i covered their shift while simultaneously working my own shift (horrible, i was not fully trained for that) and stayed late. on Thursday i was told i was needed to cover “for a few hours” at a different location the next day, and i agreed on the condition that i would be off by the afternoon because i needed to go to my mom (an hour away) to take care of her. i was also told i needed to cover for the manager again on Sunday. i also had a scheduled shift to train for an event on Saturday.
i worked the different location shift on Friday. an hour before, my manager told me i would need to be there 30 minutes earlier than scheduled, and also stop at my usual location to pick up materials they needed. when i arrived, they threw me behind the bar (i had never been there before and am not at all fully trained as a bartender), and they didn’t take me to my set department until an hour and a half later. i worked the rest of the day in the sun, and ended up being there for a total of 7 hours with no break given to me. i told my manager this and she responded “Hmmmmm okay! They know you can’t stay an 8 hours. I told them!”
the schedule also came out on Friday, and i was scheduled Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, even though my manager told me i wouldn’t be working Monday. after the shift on Friday, i asked her if i could have Saturday off as i was absolutely exhausted and getting increasingly anxious about working the next 5 days, still with no day off, after how stressful that past week has been. she said yes, and then later said actually no, i’m needed. i reluctantly agreed, but this morning (Saturday) i woke up after taking care of my mom all night feeling absolutely exhausted with a migraine, probably still dehydrated from working in the sun all day yesterday with no break. the shift i am scheduled to work tonight is highly physical and will go until very late (2-3AM), and i’m still working at 9AM tomorrow morning to cover for my manager. i called out sick as soon as i woke up and again explained my physical state and situation.
my manager said okay, but sent me a long paragraph about how this is now the second time i’ve called out this week, and have called out “a handful of times before.” yes, this is the second time i’ve called out this week, but it’s because i’ve been made to take on so many extra shifts and sacrifice all of my days off to cover for others??? and i’m physically exhausted from it. i am so anxious and stressed with this workload on top of dealing with taking care of my mom, and i haven’t done laundry or dishes or washed my hair all week.
and the “handful of times” i’ve called out? absolute bullshit. my first week of work i left a shift 30 minutes early because my dad took too much of his prescription medication and was sick. the truth is, he overdosed that day. it was one of the worst days of my life. i was scheduled the next day, but my manager OFFERED to work it so i could have the day off. i would have worked it had she not offered. the other 2 times i didn’t work a shift were both because someone else wanted those shifts and i gave it to them, both times telling my manager “i can absolutely work this, but so-and-so wants it and i’d love to be able to do other thing that day.”
on July 11th, i covered a shift for my manager, and while i was opening, my brother called me from the animal hospital to tell me my dog was being put down. my manager did not allow me to leave. i didn’t argue with her. i spent the entire day sobbing.
two weeks later, i covered her early shift so she could work a bar event shift at night. an hour into her bar shift, i was called by the organizers of the event and they begged me to come in and cover for her even though i hadn’t even been home an hour yet. why did she leave? her dog got outside.
i feel so taken advantage of and abused by this job. i was never fully trained, and i have been chewed out by my manager on multiple occasions for doing simple things i thought correctly, but she decided they weren’t done correctly and she had never ever trained me on them or communicated her expectations to me. the money is good, but the management and expectations of me are so incredibly distorted and hypocritical.
also, she told me i would not be receiving any overtime for the 9 days in a row i’m supposed to work this week and next week.