IDK if this is the right sub, but I had an awful employer in 2018 who took advantage of me in so many ways. My breaking point was working nearly 120hr on a 2-week paycheck and realizing that she didn't pay me over time. She has two businesses on main street directly across from one another. She split my hours between both of them, so my overtime wasn't calculated (she also wrote in the employee handbook that they didn't pay overtime, which I have since realized is highly illegal. Also, I never signed a new employee handbook since I had previously worked for her in high school). She said I worked 40 hrs at one store and the rest of my hours at the other, even though I was only at one location for, at minimum, an entire week, at most 75% of that pay period. When you clock in or out, the system takes a picture of you, so I should have had evidence that I clicked in and out from 1 location.
Can I report her even though this was in 2018, or has it passed that point, and should I just look at that job as a learning experience? Don't businesses have to keep records for seven years? Or is it 5?
This is 100% not even the worst of it. She created a hostile work environment, and I feel uncomfortable, even disgusted now, with some of the things she's asked me to do regarding training and treating other employees.
I know this sort of thing continued after I left, so maybe I could still report her or send in a tip about her labor practices without any expectation of compensation?
I'd love some advice. I've just been thinking about this situation as im reading other posts of people asking for advice. I wish I had found Reddit when I was going through this BS.
Edit: im asking now because I had moved home when I hit rock bottom, and I reached out to her because I loved working for her in high school, and it was easier than job hunting when I was already so depressed and my life had just come crashing down on me. I honestly thought of her as an older sister, and it hurts more than it would have if it were just a shitty job. She 100% knew she was taking advantage of me, and that stings more than anything else. I really cared for her. I've been reading this sub a lot over the past year, and I've learned so much about my rights and different shady business practices, and maybe I still want to see her pay for hurting me.