Waffle House Is Taking Heat For An 'Especially Alarming' Paycheck Policy
Waffle House Is Taking Heat For An 'Especially Alarming' Paycheck Policy
A Georgia worker explains why she went on strike over the policy: “Why am I paying for food I’m not eating?”
A union that’s organizing Waffle Houseworkers filed a petition with the Labor Department on Monday, asking federal officials to investigate the iconic chain’s policy of deducting mandatory meal costs from workers’ paychecks.
Waffle House takes at least $3 for each on-shift meal out of workers’ pay, whether they end up eating it or not, according to the petition from the Union of Southern Service Workers. The USSW called it “especially alarming” since many workers are paid a tipped sub-minimum wage “as low as $2.90 per hour,” not including gratuities.
Wage theft in the United States exceeds all theft, burglary, larceny, etc values put together.
It's important to keep this in mind whenever retailers decry shoplifters as a source of price increases - the retailers steal more from their employees paychecks than what is stolen from them (and most shrinkage isn't due to theft anyways).
It's also important to keep this in mind whenever asshats like Bezos or Musk talk about eliminating the NLRB.
Approximately 60-80% of all theft is wage theft. So it’s 3-4x as common as any other kind of theft.
Wage theft enforcement is so desperately needed in the US.
And this might just be the place to kick it into action.
We need a critical mass boycott that has actual change. Lots are prepping to boycott all Kellogg's products starting April 1 (giving time to prep, but not bulk buy) for 3 months.
Hopefully this kinda shit actually starts to make a real dent. Causing actual crash, or actual positive change.
Every person that votes against companies with their wallets makes a dent. I think the economy is helping by making more people HAVE to start making some tough spending decisions. Companies are pretty stupid to not be considering that as they continue to try to fuck people over more each day.
That’s pretty fucked up. I would add them to the list of companies that I will no longer patronize, but they there were already there for being gross in other ways.
Highly illegal, should be an easy win.
You'd think so... but our two tier justice system just let Trump cut his bail requirement in a third because "it so hawwwd". Never underestimate how stuffed with corporate toadies our justice system is.
and all the patrons ordering to go pay extra for all the bags and food containers plus an added tip for bagging the order
Better not shut down then I'll have to watch mma 😫
I found this a bit confusing, but I think the core of this is really that Waffle House staff don't get a choice on whether or not they buy a meal during their shift. Is that right?
I kind of got that gist from the article, but nothing super clear. It said that employees pay for the meal whether they eat it or not, which if you ordered food and didn't eat it, that's kinda on you. I think it should be saying that they are charged for the meal whether they ordered it or not, if that's what is happening.
Basically, yes. They're forcing you to purchase food, whether you want it, intend to consume it, or get to consume it.
And FWIW in the restaurant industry meal breaks are usually not a thing, so it is very common to order food and just have to scarf it down whenever you're not using your hands or in front of guests. I used to unwrap, consume, and dispose of the packaging for a sandwich in the time it took me to walk from the door to dry storage.
Edit: also IIRC wage deductions are usually illegal unless for uniforms or ordered by a court. This is probably an easy case.
If you're not eating hour old food above a trash can after mistiming making a meal what even are you doing (I don't cook professionally, was married to a chef/baker and got to hear all about the nonsense)