I know this is a common story these days but I'm still angry, more at the absence of respect towards me than the tiny pay difference.
I (17F) live in NJ and started at a regional fast-food chain for $13/hr 11+ months ago, when minimum wage was $12 – now it's $13. A few months later, my friend came to work at the same job per my referral, I never got my promised bonus btw. Pretty sure they owe me like $50 per company policy.
Shortly after, we stopped being friends, plus our schedules didn't coincide so didn't talk for months. I got a $0.15 raise due to having one of the best annual reports, the GM acted all proud of me/himself since I was his first hire (he was new to the restaurant) and like the raise was a big deal, though it just means I make $1-2 extra a week. He also had the nerve to tell me not to discuss my pay. That was a red flag there and then, I posted about it here and got educated very quickly. It was never enforced, of course, since he couldn't violate federal law.
I recently started talking to this friend again after we got scheduled together and found out she was hired for $13.25. I feel manipulated because (no offense to her), this is her first job and I have more experience having worked another fast-food job, and I feel I've worked hard and been a great employee. Plus, the GM acted all happy when he hired me since he has kids and I'm a high achieving student – that's just further proof he knows I have more potential than given credit for. I think he's been stringing me along at this low wage because he's counting on me to be too dumb to look into it or think I deserve more. I already felt I was being underpaid and wanted to look for a job as a waitress, heard about a local cafe with great tips, but this feels like the last straw.
Anyways, I'm hoping to hand in my two weeks' soon. I'm torn between avoiding unnecessary tension, but I'm also pissed at this asshole, and want to (professionally) address why I'm leaving in the letter. Should I do that, or should I just fake grin and act like I'm leaving because I won't have time during the school year? That's a valid excuse due to my heavy courseload, college apps, and other activities.