Management misrepresented my requested work schedule, reduced my hours to little

[omgprotoss]

I live in WA. I was wondering if I have any legal recourse for something that happened to me at work. I've been working there for about 4 pleasant years with no major issues. But now it seems there have been issues, so I've been attempting to get as much of this documented as possible so I can see what my options are, if any. I work in a food business, largely catering oriented. I wash everything that goes in and out for caterings. For the last 4 years I've been working the majority of the hours in my position, and during the winter time I'm usually the only person in the company doing what I do.

This all starts off with a supervisor of mine, we'll call him P. He's a handyman who was initially hired onto the company as a contractor. After some length of time, a lot of responsibilities in the catering sector have begun to fall into his lap - including scheduling of the workers at the warehouse (which has largely just been me, my brother, and a handful of other workers). I've been told by one of three co-owners, M., that another co-owner, K., oversees the scheduling and I'm to report to her for my scheduling requests. I've been doing that for the most of my time with the company with no issue. Up until the last year or so, P. handles my schedule (vaguely). P., who's been written up for inappropriately referring to coworkers beneath him in the past, began interacting with me in an inappropriate manner two months ago, and as a result, I made a request to be kept on for the weekends so I may seek other full-time job accommodations. I said they had two weeks to accommodate my request, in case they couldn't do it sooner. I also said if my request to be kept on the schedule for the weekends was going to be trouble, I'd need to be known at that point so I can get another immediate job so I can sustain myself while I get my A+ certification and get hired on elsewhere. They didn't said there were any problems with my request.

Two months later, my hours (as well as my brother's) are being taken away on the weekend in favor for new employees. He then justifies his scheduling decision by saying my request put him in a tough spot so he had to hire people which needed to take the hours which I previously requested. I feel like this was a complete misrepresentation, as well as retaliation for requesting a different schedule due to feeling inappropriately communicated to in the workplace. He's also not offering any way to gain more hours in my position other than the 2-hours of work per week they're now giving me. I feel like this is ridiculous, and completely devalues the 4 years of good work I've done for the company. Is there anything I can do legally? I'm trying to get this solved within the company but P. is refusing to communicate me in writing any further, making it difficult to document our interactions any further.

If there's nothing I can do - is it legal for me to start a blog containing the name of the company in the domain name, detailing true things about my experiences with the company that may concern the public (such as sanitary concerns)?

There's a lot of detail behind this but I tried to condense it - I'll give more details if you guys think there's anything wrong being done to me legally.

 

[cbg]

You do not get to tell your employer what hours you will work and you do not get to tell them that they have two weeks to schedule you the way you want. You are not entitled by law to accommodations for any but medical reasons and not always then. You do not get to tell them how to manage a disciplinary issue.

 

[omgprotoss]

You do not get to tell your employer what hours you will work and you do not get to tell them that they have two weeks to schedule you the way you want. You are not entitled by law to accommodations for any but medical reasons and not always then. You do not get to tell them how to manage a disciplinary issue.

So agreeing to a schedule with an employee, and then changing it in a way that an employee no longer gets hours is legally okay? Are you essentially saying employees have no job security legally? This is a small business. I was under the impression there exceptions to the at-will employment law when it concerned misrepresentation of a work schedule. What if I changed my entire living situation to move closer to this place, because I was relying on this schedule? There's no laws protecting against retaliation for reporting derogatory speech towards employees?

So does this mean I should start a blog detailing true things about my experiences with the company that may concern the public (such as sanitary concerns)? It's not like I'm getting hours from them so I don't see what I have to lose by doing going for their reputation instead. It just seems silly that my 4 years of employment is no longer valid because I felt I was harassed by a supervisor at the company.

Would it be worth attempting to file for unemployment? I filed anyways. If I was hired on for full time hours and I'm not getting those hours, but I'm stilled employed, that means unemployment is viable?

 

[cbg]

So agreeing to a schedule with an employee, and then changing it in a way that an employee no longer gets hours is legally okay? Unless a legally binding and enforceable contract says otherwise, yes.

Are you essentially saying employees have no job security legally? Yes.

I was under the impression there exceptions to the at-will employment law when it concerned misrepresentation of a work schedule. Your impression was incorrect.

What if I changed my entire living situation to move closer to this place, because I was relying on this schedule? Sucks to be you, then.

There's no laws protecting against retaliation for reporting derogatory speech towards employees? You *might* have had protection had you gone about things differently. (Can't say for sure without knowing exactly what was said.) But you didn't go about it the right way - you went about delivering ultimatums. You don't get protection for that.

 

[Ladyback1]

You do not get to tell your employer what hours you will work and you do not get to tell them that they have two weeks to schedule you the way you want. You are not entitled by law to accommodations for any but medical reasons and not always then. You do not get to tell them how to manage a disciplinary issue.

OH....You can tell an employer all those things; The employer does NOT have to listen or accommodate the demands.

 

[cbg]

And the employer could have, had they wanted to, fired her.

 

[commentator]

with unemployment, the issue they'll be wading through is "are you working all the hours that your employer has available for you?" and then, of course, does this, in a calendar week, Sunday through Saturday, come out to a gross wage that is less than what your weekly benefit for unemployment would be? If the employer confirms that you are working all the hours available to you, and during a calendar week, you only got, say, 10 hours, at $10 an hour ($100) then they'd do a calculation and you might be able to draw unemployment for that week. Your unemployment check might be reduced to reflect your earnings.

If instead, you voluntary quit your job by refusing any hours, then they have to determine if you have a valid work related reason to quit the job. And while you are drawing unemployment, you certainly do not get to dictate the hours days and times you would be available to work at other jobs.

But in the meantime, nothing but nothing that you have described sounds the least bit illegal, and you would be very poorly served to begin a website trashing these people. In the first place, what if you put them out of business? You've fouled your own nest. Why not just look for another job? By the way, as it has been pointed out to you, nobody is going to let you dictate your own hours as you'd like to do unless you open your own company. They're in business to perform the work, not to accommodate you.

 

[omgprotoss]

Why are you guys saying I made demands? I made requests, none of which I threatened legal action over (or threatened anything, other than threatening to put in my 2 weeks, which isn't a threat). When you sign up for a place to work, they ask what hours you want to work and they give you a schedule along those lines. All I did was ask for a change in schedule, and the reason I said 2 weeks was because it would have been no different had I put in my 2 weeks at that point. Making a schedule request, while also requesting to be let known if there isn't enough work to go around doesn't seem like a demand. If they simply said "no schedule change, no work", I'd have accepted it, put in my 2 weeks, moved on, got a different job. But they didn't do that. I was under the impression I was in a stable, mutually-agreed upon schedule (like I have been with the entirety of my time with them).

What demands or ultimatum's have I made that invalidates my accusations of being retaliated against the work place? All I've done is made written requests to have my scheduling issues dealt with, which is what you would usually do if your work schedule isn't working. The biggest ultimatum I gave was "if we can't find a workable schedule, I have to quit" - isn't that usually the scenario that occurs when someone requires a change in schedule?

And if I'm not getting any hours at this place - what difference does it make if I "foul the nest"? The way they handled this situation shows bad faith on behalf of the company. Like I said, this feels like retaliation for attempting to put myself out of harassment's way, and as a result my hours are cut. I'm guessing in these cases it only matters of this derogatory language stems from sexism, racism, etc.?

 

[omgprotoss]

I guess I should elaborate a little on what derogatory speech was used towards me. My supervisor was speaking to me, as if I was his dog. He was telling me to "Go, dishpit, sit!", similar to how he speaks to his dog, something which made me extremely uncomfortable considering he has been reported and written up for referring to a black person under his supervision as "Kunte Kinte". This was derogatory because he made it feel like he was referring to me as if he owned me, like a pet. Very disrespectful. If I were black, I'd have simply reported him for racism (pretending to "own" a black person is a lot worse apparently), but I'm not black. I've learned that instead of trying to stay in that situation and make it worse, I'd attempt to negotiate a different schedule that works for both the company and myself. It just seems like to avoid harassment in my circumstance, you have to leave the workplace altogether.

Well, at this point, I'll just apologize to them if it seems like I was making demands - and say I'm available to work whatever all days - whatever works for them in that regard. I have no history of issues at this place - this is pretty much the first big issue I've had with the work place, but I've seen multiple employees removed from the workplace simply because a supervisor doesn't like their personality, regardless of their work ethic or how they communicate with others. If they want to remove me from employment because I feel like I'm being mistreated by a singular supervisor being employed, I guess that's what they have to do. If they don't want to schedule me, I'll just file for unemployment and begin my job search.

"So agreeing to a schedule with an employee, and then changing it in a way that an employee no longer gets hours is legally okay? Unless a legally binding and enforceable contract says otherwise, yes." Implied contracts aren't legally enforceable? That's not what I'm seeing. What is and isn't considered a contract? Do I literally have to be a contractor for that to be considered? I'm just trying to see my options, if any exist. If not, it's not a big deal. I was under the impression that documented writing pertaining to a mutually-reached agreement between employee and employer was some sort of contract.

 

[commentator]

And in your state, as in almost all, it is totally "at will" and the employer can call you about anything he wants to, or give you the hours he wants to, or treat you any way he wants to, unless it is illegal due to violating the EEOC, OSHA or is actual assault or sexual harrassment. Talking mean to you or calling you names on the job is not actually illegal.

Like many people in the workforce, you did not realize until now exactly how few laws and protections are in place for the employee. And you seem to have the assumption that you simply put in your request for a schedule, and the employer is supposed to arrange the hours as you want and honor that. Really, if it works for you, and they'll do that, that's nice. But there is no way the employer has to accommodate your schedule, keep giving you the schedule you used to have, praise you, or even be nice to you. Your option is to quit the job. Two weeks notice is not required anywhere. It is a courtesy, and many employers will say "go on and leave now!" Which they have the right to do. Once again, you don't get to schedule your hours, even down to when you elect to leave.

And oral contracts or implied contracts about what the employer was going to give you or what schedule you were going to work are not binding contracts. The employer can change schedules or arrange hours any way they need to in order to "accommodate the needs of the business."

Quote: I've seen multiple employees removed from the workplace simply because a supervisor doesn't like their personality, regardless of their work ethic or how they communicate with others. If they want to remove me from employment because I feel like I'm being mistreated by a singular supervisor being employed

If you had a union contract or a written contract, it might be different, but what you've got is the classic American workplace. Can they do this to me? Yes, they can.

 

[omgprotoss]

Thanks I appreciate the help and advice. I wasn't relying on the legal aspect of my situation to take off - it was only something I wanted to look into because occasionally there are laws that help protect employees who feel mistreated (but of course it depends on the circumstances). I've written a letter of apology for expressing my complaints, and clarified that I'm not trying to make any demands, simply clarifying how I feel like I've been harassed and requested a new agreement of scheduling, if they're willing. I let them know I'm available all days of the week, full time in my position. If they do schedule me, I'll try to accrue the hours I need, find another position, and take off. If they don't schedule me, they at least know I'm willing to work full time so I can at least file for unemployment in the meantime.

I've been close to the co-owners for the last years due to very lengthy relationship with one of their daughters. I even lived with one of the co-owners for a time. That same co-owner tried to completely stiff me on the security deposit. These people are very nice on the surface, but seem like they try to act antagonistic and unfair when it suits them. If I'm angry after this has past, I'll just start a blog, utilize keywords shared by the business, and use basic SEO tactics to get my blog above their own business in search-engines. If they don't like it...well..too bad. If they can't sue me, I could benefit from the therapy that'd provide me.

 

[Shadowbunny]

Thanks I appreciate the help and advice. I wasn't relying on the legal aspect of my situation to take off - it was only something I wanted to look into because occasionally there are laws that help protect employees who feel mistreated (but of course it depends on the circumstances). I've written a letter of apology for expressing my complaints, and clarified that I'm not trying to make any demands, simply clarifying how I feel like I've been harassed and requested a new agreement of scheduling, if they're willing. I let them know I'm available all days of the week, full time in my position. If they do schedule me, I'll try to accrue the hours I need, find another position, and take off. If they don't schedule me, they at least know I'm willing to work full time so I can at least file for unemployment in the meantime.

I've been close to the co-owners for the last years due to very lengthy relationship with one of their daughters. I even lived with one of the co-owners for a time. That same co-owner tried to completely stiff me on the security deposit. These people are very nice on the surface, but seem like they try to act antagonistic and unfair when it suits them. If I'm angry after this has past, I'll just start a blog, utilize keywords shared by the business, and use basic SEO tactics to get my blog above their own business in search-engines. If they don't like it...well..too bad. If they can't sue me, I could benefit from the therapy that'd provide me.

Tread VERY carefully with your blog; otherwise you could find yourself defending a libel suit.