When I was 20, I worked at a Dollar Tree. It was a summer job. During this time, there was a bad heatwave in my state, and my store didn’t have any working air conditioning. My manager had tried to take care of the issue, but the part to get the air conditioner working was delayed. Every other customer complained about the heat. Working there you were required to wear long pants and with an apron on top made dealing with the heat more difficult.
There was one heatwave in particular that was bad, and I knew work was going to be like an oven. So I wore a pair of leggings. They were black, but had the words “adidas” going up one pant. I didn’t see anything wrong with this at first, my apron covered up majority of the lettering anyway and I was cashier, so no one would see. I ended up getting scolded by the manager for my pants, but she didn’t say what was wrong.
Later that day as I was counting my drawer, I got written up because the shift before, I supposedly left 5 dollars. That shift where the money was found, my drawer was not short of 5 dollars. But still, I got written up. It was that moment I knew things were about to get worse, so as I reached home, I called the place and quit on the spot.
If the manger really cared, she would’ve let the workers wear comfortable clothing because for a job where people are making peanuts, most of them won’t have the money to cover for hospital bills if they passed out from heat exhaustion. I know I certainly didn’t. Having been to other dollar trees in my state, I’ve seen other people wear leggings. I got blamed for what happened to me by others. Maybe I wore something against the dress code, but my manager could’ve been more specific on what was so wrong.
3 years later I am now realizing my worth. I do not deserve to be with an employer that treats their workers like crap. I deserve an employer who will treat me well and is honest. I am lucky now to work from home as a cybersecurity engineer after I got my BS in cybersecurity. However, I know not everyone isn’t as fortunate as me, but I am going to continue to stand up for those who are being mistreated. No one should have their risk their own well-being for a job.