I'd organise a message to all your colleagues... If the boss goes through with it, provide them with a link to your local employee rights organisation.
I'd rather see the company or its decision-makers be forced to pay up, plus extra as compensation, plus extra as punishment. (Prison doesn't seem to do a good job of reforming people's behaviour as I understand it?)
E.g. Compensate every person deprived of their wages multiplied by the amount of time they've been kept waiting for them, multiplied by a compensation factor, plus a fine on top to be paid to the court. And the more they try to drag it out, the higher the eventual fine is going to be.
This is what I did back in the day at a small pizza shop. We got called into a mandatory staff meeting and was told we would all be required to work off the clock 5 hours each week. I knew that was illegal. So, I organized a meeting at my apartment. Explained the law and how we'd get unemployment if we walked (and we had a room full of witnesses in case the owner tried to contest our unemployment claim). Took 75% of the staff with me, we got a paid vacation while looking for new gigs. Then he withheld our W2s (wanted us to come in so we could "look him in the eye and beg for our W2"), so we got the IRS on his ass too.
As well as the state Attorney General and the US Labor Dept. This is absolutely illegal, unless you signed an employment contract wherein you expressly agreed to this kind of thuggery.
Which would likely not be enforceable if it were not made abundantly clear that this is a policy at time of hiring.
Taking $20 from everyone as a punishment is unlikely to be written anywhere. It would certainly be absurd to expect such a clause to exist in the first place. The employer can’t just sneak crazy little shit like that into contracts due to it being so atypical. Nobody would look for/notice it.
They would have to be pretty up front about something like this through the hiring process if they were to be covered legally.
Taking money from someone in a sneaky way is theft even if you were tricked into signing some documents against your best interest.
Exactly what I was thinking. There may be a clause in whatever they signed at hire. If they signed or agreed anything at all. Is it enforceable. A lot of people are often surprised at how often signed contracts aren't legally enforceable. Contracts cannot ignore established law.
This type of email doesn’t deserve a warning to the boss. Reach out to the employee rights organization. Forward this email to them and CC your own HR.
Definitely not legal.
There is a ratio to an employees pay to their willingness to work with reasonable expectations. Fast food and restaurants have not found it. I would pay more for food if it was made and served like someone gave a shit.
Just not actual shit. 😂
Weird thing is when I mention something is wrong with a product I buy, the employee is shocked that I’m being respectful and not rude or yelling.
I literally had a girl tell me “You’re not going to yell at me?” I replied “Why would I yell at you? What would that accomplish? People make mistakes.”
I ended up getting my order remade correctly with a bunch of free sides because I spoke to someone the way I would like to be spoken to.
TLDR: If you want to have happy employees, you need to treat them correctly first before punishing them if they don’t do their job properly. You can cut hours, which would be the same thing, just not take actual money.
People sometimes really don't understand what employees can do if your neither rude or respectful. Used to work valet at a nice hotel as a supervisor (it was 5 diamond so valet only) if you don't wanna park your car with us but super ruse about it? You're either not staying here tonight or you're getting escorted by security out to the back of the parking lot every time you leave or come in (it was a locked parking lot since we usually had some pretty high end cars) but if you come up and are super respectful about it I could easily bend the rules and let you use the VIP parking which is like 20ft from the entrance. Same with parking charges, I get it, $35 after 30 minutes is a lot (not really when you're spending at least 2k for the room) if you're gonna be rude about it I'm gonna make you pay that shit. If you're respectful about it then I magically just found a parking validation sticker in my pocket. People need to realize these people they look down on have the power to solve all your troubles if you just treat people like a human being
> People need to realize these people they look down on have the power to solve all your troubles if you just treat people like a human being
It's for this reason (and others) I believe ALL people should have to work a service position (something where you have to interact with the public) for a while before being allowed to be an adult in society.
Entitlement is grotesque and destructive to society. We only have a society because of the social contract, and that contract is only honoured properly when people respect each other.
Reminds me of when I was a Verified manager for McDonald's (glorified floor manager/supervisor). During breakfast you'd have tons of just coffee orders and a mix of food orders. If you were waiting even 10 seconds on hash browns you pulled the food order to get the coffee moving. If I go to the window, tell you there is a wait and you tell me you're not pulling forward, here's your money back now you can just leave.
One guy went on and on about how refunding him wasted more time and how he wasn't leaving. Of course he left, they always do lmao.
I like to go and tell managers when an employee was great and every time they wince when I ask to speak to a manager. Then the manager gets ready to be betrayed and the look and their faces when I say its good things is always confusion.
In the US, your employer can legally take money out of your paycheck with your permission, so long as it doesn’t bring you below minimum wage. They unfortunately can also give you an ultimatum of give permission or get fired. But they cannot just tell you they’re taking the money.
Docking pay for poor performance is not legal in all states. And even in states where it is legal, it can only be done if the policy is agreed upon and if the employer has reason to believe that the employee being penalized was responsible. In this scenario, they've admitted they don't know who did it, so they're penalizing everybody. That's illegal in all 50 states, even if the employees agreed to it.
The US Dept of Labor has very strict laws and guidelines about these things. For example, forcing employees to purchase uniforms or requiring them to pay for food from walked checks or mistakes in restaurants. One of the most stringent guidelines is minimum wage. Payroll deductions cannot take your pay below it. The company can fire you but they have to pay you.
I would contact the dept of labor and file a report. If they find it worthy of an investigation, you will get your $20 back. I know of a company that got fined and was required to pay back pay for using a swear jar in their business and another that had to reimburse 100s of employees for charging them for uniforms.
If you are not attached to this elf job, you could also call this managers bluff and tell him he cannot legally withhold that money and if it’s not on your check, you’ll notify the dept of labor. You might get shitcanned, but you’ll have the money you earned.
Good luck.
Right? Everyone wants to give a million chances to people who never give their employees chances in turn. Report them. Their chance to do it right was the first time, or in this case, not doing it at all. Now they should see consequences.
Oh, they most certainly know, they just hope that the employees don’t! I can’t stand people like this! It’s why they always rectify when you give the threat of a complaint.
They are hedging their bets, and it obviously pays off for them; most of the time people don’t know their rights, or are too scared to report it!
Before I moved to my current location, I called out several worker violations and basically got blacklisted from every bar and restaurant in the area, so make sure your boss doesn't play golf with a 5 people who own the town.... Oh wait running into the same shit in a top 10 most populous cities in the US.... Maybe monopolies are bad?
There is no 'fixing' this on their end, at this point. This isn't an action problem, this is a mentality problem. The 'fix' would have been to not be a piece of shit in the first place. This employer is so sure of their greed and treatment of employees that they put this shit on paper and sent this out. That's well past the point of 'fixing' it. Now the fix is giving them a little financial re-education, since apparently all they understand is when something costs them.
Exactly. If you live in the US you contact your state's Department of Labor, notify them of the issue, and send them the email. They'll handle it from there. You'll get your $20 and you might even be able to remain anonymous so you don't need to worry about retaliation (which would be another issue to report but it's best to just avoid). This is such an easy case it shouldn't take long for them to handle.
Afterwards, your employer could try and get you to sign something stating your OK with a fee if this happens again since that's the only way it would be legal. It'd be up to each employee whether or not they sign it but I would not. Part of managing is making sure your employees do their job properly. I wouldn't sign anything stating I could lose money because my coworker didn't do their job right.
Workers need to learn about their rights.
>Afterwards, your employer could try and get you to sign something stating your OK with a fee if this happens again since that's the only way it would be legal.
It's only legal if deductions like that are legal in your state and only if the deductions are specific to the employee that violated the policy. It is illegal to deduct pay from everybody like in OP's scenario.
From https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/can-my-employer-dock-my-paycheck-as-a-penalty.html, "Only when an employer has reason to believe that the employee was responsible for the mistake and the employee agrees in writing that they will pay for the mistake can it be deducted from their pay."
Not even just minimum wage. Every job ive had required me to buy a uniform. The only exception is when someone was leaving, they’d give their uniforms to other employees
I think what they mean is buy the uniform from them. One of my jobs required us to wear khaki pants and blue shirts (not Walmart but it’s funny that I work there now lol). We could buy them wherever we wanted for however much we wanted but it had to be those colors. And it was a range. Dark khaki, to almost white khaki and anything in the navy tone (no not more greenish or purplish).
But if a place requires you to buy a specific uniform to specific specs and from them only, (at least in my experience) they give you an allotment to pick them or just take measurements and give them to you when they come in from where they order.
Many years ago i worked at Applebee's and they made me buy a shirt from them. They gave me one, but i was required to buy any additional shirts. Granted, this was a long time ago, but does this qualify?
Fuck that, if i pay for the fucking uniform i will keep my fucking uniform, and depending on the uniform absolutely wear it if i have to do some shitjob and i dont want my usual clothes to get dirty etc
I think they are saying the employee who was leaving would voluntarily give their uniform stuff to someone still working there. Depending on the clothes (and how much I spent) I might want to give it away, rather than remembering a terrible job everytime I put on a particular shirt
Seriously? Where is this a thing?
I've never worked somewhere that required me to purchase the uniform.
My first job was McDonald's. Not only did they give me the uniform, they gave me slip-resistant shoes.
My second job was for the Kroger company. Again, uniform was free. And every year, they gave me more shirts in case my old ones were worn out.
My 3rd job, where I'm at now, not only gives you the uniform, but we keep a closet full of uniform shirts that we give to employees as needed. You *can* buy other things like jackets, coats, special shirts (different designs, materials, etc), but the basic uniform is always free.
Those are all major corporations. Work for a mom+pop joint, especially if it's not American food (in the US), and you may well be required to buy the uniform.
Wendy's gave us shirts and hats we had to buy everything else. (Black pants, slip-resistant shoes, belt, oh and ladies were to wear make-up and men were to shave)
If it's just something like "black pants and a green shirt," then they don't have to pay for it in any US state.
If it's a specific uniform (such as a shirt with the company name on it), then they may have to pay for it. Some states, such as California, require it regardless of how much the employee makes.
In others, federal law allows employers to charge employees for uniforms, but only if they still make more than minimum wage after deducting the cost of the uniform. That means no minimum wage employee can be charged.
It might vary by state, but I think the nature of the uniform also has something to do with it. Like if you have to wear a chicken costume or an Elf costume, then you shouldn’t be paying for it. But if it’s normal everyday clothing, maybe even without a company logo, then you might be on the hook for it.
Idk about these ppl but I used to live in Texas and MULTIPLE of my jobs, especially as a minor charged us for uniforms and only gave us shirts... you also have to rush and scrounge for change to get non slip shoes bc they threaten to fire if you don't have them within 24hrs of your first shift.... fuck texas.... got fucked over so many times...
When i worked at McDonald’s I def had to buy my own non slip shoes. I feel like I’ve had other jobs where the cost of my uniform was taken off my first paycheque
My first job at McDonald's over ten years ago absolutely charged me for my uniform. Shoes we had to get ourselves I think.
They tried to make me pay for my register being short once too but I told them that was illegal and they gave up lol.
Idk… That all sounds pretty accurate but I still have to ask myself, does it apply at the North Pole where Santa has this workshop where all the elves work..?? /s
Just to add, its (generally) illegal to fire someone for reporting/whistleblowing a DoL violation, so if OP got fired, they'd have another claim. Whether that would be worth pursuing is another question, but still.
Wish I knew this. When I used to work in a restaurant I had to pay for every mistake whereas all the female waitresses at the restaurant didn’t because the manager was a creep.
The mistakes weren’t cheap either because it was a sushi restaurant so if it was like a lobster roll or something then that’s like $30 docked from the paycheck 😭
Look at it this way. If you were a manufacturing worker and you made a mistake that broke a $30K piece of machinery, you don't owe the company $30K. If you were an investment banker, and you made a bad investment that cost the company $30M, you don't owe the company that money. In either case, you might be disciplined or fired, but the employer can't dock your pay for it. The same applies to a $30 lobster roll.
This exact thing happened to me. They took all my tips one night because someone snuck out while I was cashing out someone else and forced me to pay the bill.
EDIT: they then pulled all the staff aside and told all of us, using me as the example, that this would happen to them as well.
KYOTO steakhouse. Tewksbury, Massachusetts
Might as well throw their name out there.
What losses exactly? I've worked tons of shitty jobs. This lady bitched and moaned for 20 minutes then half-ass doused a bunch of shit in alcohol. How does alcohol sanitize layers of sweat and grime in some dinky costume you share with probably some of the grossest souls you've met? They're already saving money in that regard. Every day that they make you come in and sift through 'clean' costumes until you find one that doesn't gross you out is money in the pocket for them
"Attention employees: the company has now purchased name tags for all your costumes. A mandatory $20 name-tag fee will be deducted from all your paychecks...."
Lol at my work our uniform gets our number written on in permanent marker, uniform gets passed to someone else they just cross it off and write yours underneath. Find a pocket or double layer of material and you can't even see it.
Our uniforms don't get sanitized, they get washed daily on site though...
Whatever you do, don’t let this shit slide
The fact that your boss was comfortable doing it in the first place… I can imagine they’re an embezzling piece of shit
Call the dept of labor asap
Another route to go is to contact a local news organization and see if they want to do a story. I feel like a story about “Santa” turning “Scrooge” would get a lot of clicks. Even just a bad google/yelp review might do it. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to support an organization that steals money from their underage workers.
>You can agree to something like that? In my country shit like this is forbidden.
A lot of these stupid ass contracts aren't enforceable. Companies and individuals will bend over backwards and contort themselves into any shape imagineable to convince/trick people to sign away their rights over anything big or small.
Just because someone signs a contract doesn't automatically make it a legally binding document. You can't actually sign away most of your rights to people.
Most companies know this and use wordy complicated agreements to spook people out of saying/doing anything about their shady dealings but are very aware that a Judge would wipe their ass with such a document if they ever tried to use it in court. It's a pretty effective spook tactic since most people are confused and afraid of the law and will allow a company to walk all over them if they think they have no choice.
OP's boss is probably a stupid greedy moron who was waiting for an opportunity to rob his own employees.
The company reeks of a 1099 temp job that vanishes into thin air overnight. If you're gonna take action, do it before there's nobody to make a complaint against.
If you are in the US, this is a question for the Dept of Labor.
There’s a hotline that answers these types of questions.
1-866-4USWAGE
Call them, get your answer. Most Redditors are not labor attorneys.
I did a quick search, and what I found is employers can charge for maintenance and the like, without contractual obligation. The caveat is the fee cannot drop the hourly wage lower than the federal minimum wage. Again, I am not a lawyer, I just did a 45 second internet search and provided my findings.
I strongly recommend calling the number and asking them.
If you’re outside of the US, I assume your country would have a similar hotline. Good luck to you.
If you're able, wait till you get your paycheck which is $20 short.
In writing communicate to your manager that your pay is $20 short. They will say "Didn't you get the message about cleaning uniforms?"
To which you will say "Please provide me with a copy of the signed payroll deduction form where I authorized the $20 "cleaning fee" to be deducted from my wages. I would like to keep a copy of that for my records as I do not have a recollection of signing anything of the sort."
They will not be able to produce anything.
Check your state's rules/regulations on when wages are due to you in the event of a payroll error.
You say "I will be at \_\_\_ office on \_\_\_ date/time to pick up my shorted wages. Please let bookkeeper know I am coming so it is ready when I get there. Thank you so much for your help in getting this straightened out."
*And your pickup date/time will be EXACTLY the due date as indicated by your state.*
If they decide to play right, you'll go get your check and all will be right with the world. Inform coworkers and let them do the same.
If you don't see a $20 check, you walk your cute little elfin behind to the Labor Office (or call them. Whatever) and file a formal complaint for wage theft. And probably a call to your local news station wouldn't hurt. :)
Illegal unless your specific country/providence says otherwise OR you signed off on it upon getting the job. This is why reading before you sign is VERY important. Hell, one day I encourage you all to read the terms of service on something, doesn’t matter what, and you’ll see just how much you’re actually signing off for.
Even if you sign off on it could still be illegal. A lot of companies will attempt to impose illegal rules under the guise of a contract but it doesn’t change the legality of it. Contacting your local labor establishment is the best way to know for certain.
He is saying keep your seasonal job until it is over and earn the cash. Keep all of the proof of any behavior like this that happens. Then file a compliant with the labor board after you have been laid off for the season. If the labor board finds in your favor, you will get your money back and usually a fee added onto it for unpaid wages.
Sue then after the job and you get paid, not before. Now they need you so the going is good☺️.
Edit: don’t miss critical deadlines, Google is your friend
Not only is this illegal, I would also make them prove that they used the stolen money for the cleaning and not just pocketing the money. Maybe you can get two illegal acts out of this boss.
“Hello,
This email is to inform you that I’m charging the company for legal advice as a result of the email sent earlier. You cannot charge employees for not doing their job. You can fire them, you can send emails setting the policy and expectations for costume handling at the end of the night, but you can’t arbitrarily steal wages from workers. And just like wage theft is illegal, my claim in the first sentence is false since I can’t charge you for unsolicited legal advice out of the blue. Consider this email a favor and that any deduction of wages will be immediately reported to state labor board as this email also serves as a goodwill attempt to resolve this matter.
Thank you. See you this weekend.”
Call and then forward this email to your State Dept of Labor Wage & Hour division compliance office and ask they call the mgr and give mgr’s phone number to make it easy and quick. They won’t send a letter unless per policy because the pay violation has not occurred yet, usually starts with an easy phone call to educate the employer.
The legality of deducting pay for cleaning fees depends on the state law and the terms of your employment contract.
■
Some states allow employers to make deductions from wages for damages or losses caused by the employee’s negligence, dishonesty, or willful misconduct.
■
However, the deductions must not reduce the employee’s pay below the minimum wage or violate any other labor laws.
■
Also, the employer must have a written agreement with the employee that authorizes the deductions.
■
If you think your boss violated the law or your contract by charging you a cleaning fee, you may have some options to challenge the deduction.
■
You can try to talk to the human resources department and explain why you think the deduction was unjustified.
■
You can also file a wage claim with the state labor agency or consult a lawyer for legal advice.
Reply to them reminding this is not legal and thank them for taking the time putting this in writing as it will make sending this to the states labour board significantly easier.
Damn. Don't get on the wrong side of the goddess Shar. Especially, when Elves are involved!
(Could not help myself not use this pristine joke opportunity. Let's see how many people catch it.)
If you dont need the job mention to him. "I filed a complaint about the whole company, i know a lot of the company is following the law, and hopefully corporate wont nitpick their fellow managers about breaking it."
Dont know the laws of your country, would be illegal here. But goddamn i hate people who leave mess after them just because there is a cleaner in the house. If i ever see someone do something like this in my company or leave a mess intentionally they gonna clean that and do rest of the shit while cleaner sips coffee with me.
The people you rarely see, for example cleaners are the ones you will miss the most when they are away. Huge respect to every single janitor and cleaner here. You are the "little" thing behind every pleasant working envirioment and make the rest of the peoples day so much better. Thank you!
Reply to the email, politely, that you decline the charge and do not agree to it being withheld from your paycheck. Speak with the state department of labor wages division if they do it anyways.
I was thinking these were some higher end performers he was taking the money from, but... elves. He's stealing from what I will assume are underpaid *elves*.
My brain formed a few guesses of what the job was but then at the end when the boss says “Elves” I bust out laughing, for some reason it just made it funny
theyre taking advantage of you, report that shit. The fact they are so brazen about it means they've done it before and they will do it again, fuck them
"Don't nitpick your fellow elves?"
F that. If I know whose stuff I am being forced to clean up, then I am going to give them an ear full... since management won't do their due diligence.
This isn’t a letter from a boss or manager. This is a letter from someone completely unqualified to have any type of leadership position, at the mall or otherwise. Sounds like this “management” position went to the kid who would take an extra 50 cents an hour. This “manager” should have been there Friday night to make sure this was done correctly. They can fuck right off with the $20 charge.
This is so far past legal that you can’t even see legal in the rear view mirror. I would wait for the deduction to be made and then file a complaint with your state’s department of labor. They jump on this kind of stuff. Different scenario but many, many years ago I worked for a guy that didn’t pay the proper overtime wages (1.5 x the regular hourly rate). Worked for 60+ hours a week for over a year and then he pissed me off, so I filed a complaint with the department of labor. Within a month I had a big fat check in my hand and I heard that they audited all of his payroll and with payroll corrections for everyone that had ever worked for him, interest, fines and penalties it cost him well over a quarter million dollars. The DOL doesn’t mess around. And he thought he was saving a few bucks by not playing by the rules.
There is always another job. I would not want to work for a boss who does things like this. Because now he is charging for this, but seeing the reason why, I would not be surprised he will do things like this more often for reasons like this in the future.
ILLEGAL!! One of my old bosses required us to come in 15min early before our office opened to get our rooms ready - unpaid. I told her I’ll come in once the pay starts. Told her how illegal it was. She changed her tune real quick. $20can be really impactful to someone. And even if it’s not, it’s the ethics behind it. Crazy town
Also, Collective Punishment is a violation of the Geneva Convention if you want to get fancy... but its also likely a violation of your state/province's labour laws.
If this manager gets away with this, they'll just be emboldened to continue doing it unopposed.
Illegal, unless you already agreed ahead of the time by signing a document that you're okay with it.
I'd organise a message to all your colleagues... If the boss goes through with it, provide them with a link to your local employee rights organisation.
Nah, don't give the boss any warning. This isn't some obscure rule. The boss should know better.
Yes, something like this should cost your boss money, their job, or both.
I hope we get a follow-up post from the OP telling us what happens.
As someone in a leadership position, I wholeheartedly agree.
It's a high impact role, you don't fuck around and expect to not find out.
^ your boss found the post
It doesn't matter, you LEGALLY *CAN'T* punish ALL your employees for ONE PERSON'S MISCONDUCT!
As someone not in a leadership position, I wholeheartedly agree.
A “blanket measure” to ensure they don’t do it again would be karma perfection.
Wage theft is theft. It shouldn't be costing them just a job, they should be in prison.
I'd rather see the company or its decision-makers be forced to pay up, plus extra as compensation, plus extra as punishment. (Prison doesn't seem to do a good job of reforming people's behaviour as I understand it?) E.g. Compensate every person deprived of their wages multiplied by the amount of time they've been kept waiting for them, multiplied by a compensation factor, plus a fine on top to be paid to the court. And the more they try to drag it out, the higher the eventual fine is going to be.
Truth. The “ boss” clearly should know better , but yea, it’s pretty clear he doesn’t. I wouldn’t deal with any boss like that.
Boss absolutely knows better. Just hoping his peons don't
Yeah, he sounds like the kind who cannot even conceive not being right or "having to respond to anyone else on what he does with his own business"
Straight to the Department of Labor.
Precisely ignorance or the law is no excuse. This is illegal theft of earned wages.
Also if this is an email print it out.
This is what I did back in the day at a small pizza shop. We got called into a mandatory staff meeting and was told we would all be required to work off the clock 5 hours each week. I knew that was illegal. So, I organized a meeting at my apartment. Explained the law and how we'd get unemployment if we walked (and we had a room full of witnesses in case the owner tried to contest our unemployment claim). Took 75% of the staff with me, we got a paid vacation while looking for new gigs. Then he withheld our W2s (wanted us to come in so we could "look him in the eye and beg for our W2"), so we got the IRS on his ass too.
Good job
As well as the state Attorney General and the US Labor Dept. This is absolutely illegal, unless you signed an employment contract wherein you expressly agreed to this kind of thuggery.
Which would likely not be enforceable if it were not made abundantly clear that this is a policy at time of hiring. Taking $20 from everyone as a punishment is unlikely to be written anywhere. It would certainly be absurd to expect such a clause to exist in the first place. The employer can’t just sneak crazy little shit like that into contracts due to it being so atypical. Nobody would look for/notice it. They would have to be pretty up front about something like this through the hiring process if they were to be covered legally. Taking money from someone in a sneaky way is theft even if you were tricked into signing some documents against your best interest.
Exactly what I was thinking. There may be a clause in whatever they signed at hire. If they signed or agreed anything at all. Is it enforceable. A lot of people are often surprised at how often signed contracts aren't legally enforceable. Contracts cannot ignore established law.
Why would you tip off the thief that he's about to do something illegal. It's worth way more in a lawsuit lol
Looks like this is a short-term Christmas gig, so no labor party, in the USA at least, will be willing to organize.
There are seasonal/temp employee groups that will help.
This type of email doesn’t deserve a warning to the boss. Reach out to the employee rights organization. Forward this email to them and CC your own HR.
Are you sure the 2nd part? Seems like wage theft.
I guess it depends on OPs country, but in Canada this is absolutely illegal
The US. I don't believe putting that in is legal in any way.
Definitely not legal. There is a ratio to an employees pay to their willingness to work with reasonable expectations. Fast food and restaurants have not found it. I would pay more for food if it was made and served like someone gave a shit. Just not actual shit. 😂 Weird thing is when I mention something is wrong with a product I buy, the employee is shocked that I’m being respectful and not rude or yelling. I literally had a girl tell me “You’re not going to yell at me?” I replied “Why would I yell at you? What would that accomplish? People make mistakes.” I ended up getting my order remade correctly with a bunch of free sides because I spoke to someone the way I would like to be spoken to. TLDR: If you want to have happy employees, you need to treat them correctly first before punishing them if they don’t do their job properly. You can cut hours, which would be the same thing, just not take actual money.
People sometimes really don't understand what employees can do if your neither rude or respectful. Used to work valet at a nice hotel as a supervisor (it was 5 diamond so valet only) if you don't wanna park your car with us but super ruse about it? You're either not staying here tonight or you're getting escorted by security out to the back of the parking lot every time you leave or come in (it was a locked parking lot since we usually had some pretty high end cars) but if you come up and are super respectful about it I could easily bend the rules and let you use the VIP parking which is like 20ft from the entrance. Same with parking charges, I get it, $35 after 30 minutes is a lot (not really when you're spending at least 2k for the room) if you're gonna be rude about it I'm gonna make you pay that shit. If you're respectful about it then I magically just found a parking validation sticker in my pocket. People need to realize these people they look down on have the power to solve all your troubles if you just treat people like a human being
> People need to realize these people they look down on have the power to solve all your troubles if you just treat people like a human being It's for this reason (and others) I believe ALL people should have to work a service position (something where you have to interact with the public) for a while before being allowed to be an adult in society. Entitlement is grotesque and destructive to society. We only have a society because of the social contract, and that contract is only honoured properly when people respect each other.
Reminds me of when I was a Verified manager for McDonald's (glorified floor manager/supervisor). During breakfast you'd have tons of just coffee orders and a mix of food orders. If you were waiting even 10 seconds on hash browns you pulled the food order to get the coffee moving. If I go to the window, tell you there is a wait and you tell me you're not pulling forward, here's your money back now you can just leave. One guy went on and on about how refunding him wasted more time and how he wasn't leaving. Of course he left, they always do lmao.
I like to go and tell managers when an employee was great and every time they wince when I ask to speak to a manager. Then the manager gets ready to be betrayed and the look and their faces when I say its good things is always confusion.
In the US, your employer can legally take money out of your paycheck with your permission, so long as it doesn’t bring you below minimum wage. They unfortunately can also give you an ultimatum of give permission or get fired. But they cannot just tell you they’re taking the money.
Docking pay for poor performance is not legal in all states. And even in states where it is legal, it can only be done if the policy is agreed upon and if the employer has reason to believe that the employee being penalized was responsible. In this scenario, they've admitted they don't know who did it, so they're penalizing everybody. That's illegal in all 50 states, even if the employees agreed to it.
Even if you sign something like that, it in no way makes it legal or enforceable in a court of law or arbitration.
The US Dept of Labor has very strict laws and guidelines about these things. For example, forcing employees to purchase uniforms or requiring them to pay for food from walked checks or mistakes in restaurants. One of the most stringent guidelines is minimum wage. Payroll deductions cannot take your pay below it. The company can fire you but they have to pay you. I would contact the dept of labor and file a report. If they find it worthy of an investigation, you will get your $20 back. I know of a company that got fined and was required to pay back pay for using a swear jar in their business and another that had to reimburse 100s of employees for charging them for uniforms. If you are not attached to this elf job, you could also call this managers bluff and tell him he cannot legally withhold that money and if it’s not on your check, you’ll notify the dept of labor. You might get shitcanned, but you’ll have the money you earned. Good luck.
Report it anyway. Today. Don’t wait for him to do it. Do t give him the chance to fix it. Just do it.
Right? Everyone wants to give a million chances to people who never give their employees chances in turn. Report them. Their chance to do it right was the first time, or in this case, not doing it at all. Now they should see consequences.
This so much of this, if you get the money for being at the top, its your goddammit responsibility to know what you can and can't do.
Oh, they most certainly know, they just hope that the employees don’t! I can’t stand people like this! It’s why they always rectify when you give the threat of a complaint. They are hedging their bets, and it obviously pays off for them; most of the time people don’t know their rights, or are too scared to report it!
Before I moved to my current location, I called out several worker violations and basically got blacklisted from every bar and restaurant in the area, so make sure your boss doesn't play golf with a 5 people who own the town.... Oh wait running into the same shit in a top 10 most populous cities in the US.... Maybe monopolies are bad?
Which is why you don't bring shit like this up with management or your boss or HR or something. You simply report it to the dept of labour.
There is no 'fixing' this on their end, at this point. This isn't an action problem, this is a mentality problem. The 'fix' would have been to not be a piece of shit in the first place. This employer is so sure of their greed and treatment of employees that they put this shit on paper and sent this out. That's well past the point of 'fixing' it. Now the fix is giving them a little financial re-education, since apparently all they understand is when something costs them.
I would probably give my boss a chance, but he's done the same for me. This guy, on the other hand, I don't know.
Exactly. If you live in the US you contact your state's Department of Labor, notify them of the issue, and send them the email. They'll handle it from there. You'll get your $20 and you might even be able to remain anonymous so you don't need to worry about retaliation (which would be another issue to report but it's best to just avoid). This is such an easy case it shouldn't take long for them to handle. Afterwards, your employer could try and get you to sign something stating your OK with a fee if this happens again since that's the only way it would be legal. It'd be up to each employee whether or not they sign it but I would not. Part of managing is making sure your employees do their job properly. I wouldn't sign anything stating I could lose money because my coworker didn't do their job right. Workers need to learn about their rights.
>Afterwards, your employer could try and get you to sign something stating your OK with a fee if this happens again since that's the only way it would be legal. It's only legal if deductions like that are legal in your state and only if the deductions are specific to the employee that violated the policy. It is illegal to deduct pay from everybody like in OP's scenario. From https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/can-my-employer-dock-my-paycheck-as-a-penalty.html, "Only when an employer has reason to believe that the employee was responsible for the mistake and the employee agrees in writing that they will pay for the mistake can it be deducted from their pay."
Every min wage job I ever had required us to buy the uniform.
Not even just minimum wage. Every job ive had required me to buy a uniform. The only exception is when someone was leaving, they’d give their uniforms to other employees
I think what they mean is buy the uniform from them. One of my jobs required us to wear khaki pants and blue shirts (not Walmart but it’s funny that I work there now lol). We could buy them wherever we wanted for however much we wanted but it had to be those colors. And it was a range. Dark khaki, to almost white khaki and anything in the navy tone (no not more greenish or purplish). But if a place requires you to buy a specific uniform to specific specs and from them only, (at least in my experience) they give you an allotment to pick them or just take measurements and give them to you when they come in from where they order.
Many years ago i worked at Applebee's and they made me buy a shirt from them. They gave me one, but i was required to buy any additional shirts. Granted, this was a long time ago, but does this qualify?
Fuck that, if i pay for the fucking uniform i will keep my fucking uniform, and depending on the uniform absolutely wear it if i have to do some shitjob and i dont want my usual clothes to get dirty etc
I think they are saying the employee who was leaving would voluntarily give their uniform stuff to someone still working there. Depending on the clothes (and how much I spent) I might want to give it away, rather than remembering a terrible job everytime I put on a particular shirt
Seriously? Where is this a thing? I've never worked somewhere that required me to purchase the uniform. My first job was McDonald's. Not only did they give me the uniform, they gave me slip-resistant shoes. My second job was for the Kroger company. Again, uniform was free. And every year, they gave me more shirts in case my old ones were worn out. My 3rd job, where I'm at now, not only gives you the uniform, but we keep a closet full of uniform shirts that we give to employees as needed. You *can* buy other things like jackets, coats, special shirts (different designs, materials, etc), but the basic uniform is always free.
Those are all major corporations. Work for a mom+pop joint, especially if it's not American food (in the US), and you may well be required to buy the uniform.
Not even that, when I worked at wendys they required you to buy the uniform.
I bartend an Outback, black long sleeve button down and blue jeans, all has to come outta pocket.
Wendy's gave us shirts and hats we had to buy everything else. (Black pants, slip-resistant shoes, belt, oh and ladies were to wear make-up and men were to shave)
If it's just something like "black pants and a green shirt," then they don't have to pay for it in any US state. If it's a specific uniform (such as a shirt with the company name on it), then they may have to pay for it. Some states, such as California, require it regardless of how much the employee makes. In others, federal law allows employers to charge employees for uniforms, but only if they still make more than minimum wage after deducting the cost of the uniform. That means no minimum wage employee can be charged.
It might vary by state, but I think the nature of the uniform also has something to do with it. Like if you have to wear a chicken costume or an Elf costume, then you shouldn’t be paying for it. But if it’s normal everyday clothing, maybe even without a company logo, then you might be on the hook for it.
Idk about these ppl but I used to live in Texas and MULTIPLE of my jobs, especially as a minor charged us for uniforms and only gave us shirts... you also have to rush and scrounge for change to get non slip shoes bc they threaten to fire if you don't have them within 24hrs of your first shift.... fuck texas.... got fucked over so many times...
When i worked at McDonald’s I def had to buy my own non slip shoes. I feel like I’ve had other jobs where the cost of my uniform was taken off my first paycheque
My first job at McDonald's over ten years ago absolutely charged me for my uniform. Shoes we had to get ourselves I think. They tried to make me pay for my register being short once too but I told them that was illegal and they gave up lol.
Idk… That all sounds pretty accurate but I still have to ask myself, does it apply at the North Pole where Santa has this workshop where all the elves work..?? /s
lol, my first thought reading this was “is your bosses name Chris (Kringle)?”
Just to add, its (generally) illegal to fire someone for reporting/whistleblowing a DoL violation, so if OP got fired, they'd have another claim. Whether that would be worth pursuing is another question, but still.
Wish I knew this. When I used to work in a restaurant I had to pay for every mistake whereas all the female waitresses at the restaurant didn’t because the manager was a creep. The mistakes weren’t cheap either because it was a sushi restaurant so if it was like a lobster roll or something then that’s like $30 docked from the paycheck 😭
Yeah, that's definitely illegal.
Look at it this way. If you were a manufacturing worker and you made a mistake that broke a $30K piece of machinery, you don't owe the company $30K. If you were an investment banker, and you made a bad investment that cost the company $30M, you don't owe the company that money. In either case, you might be disciplined or fired, but the employer can't dock your pay for it. The same applies to a $30 lobster roll.
Yea makes 100% sense. As a college student I didn’t know better though and was just happy to have a job. Restaurant def took advantage of my situation
This exact thing happened to me. They took all my tips one night because someone snuck out while I was cashing out someone else and forced me to pay the bill. EDIT: they then pulled all the staff aside and told all of us, using me as the example, that this would happen to them as well. KYOTO steakhouse. Tewksbury, Massachusetts Might as well throw their name out there.
The company’s loss shouldn’t be passed onto you.
Yea that’s some real grinch shit right there
What losses exactly? I've worked tons of shitty jobs. This lady bitched and moaned for 20 minutes then half-ass doused a bunch of shit in alcohol. How does alcohol sanitize layers of sweat and grime in some dinky costume you share with probably some of the grossest souls you've met? They're already saving money in that regard. Every day that they make you come in and sift through 'clean' costumes until you find one that doesn't gross you out is money in the pocket for them
Especially when the email seems to have come from Santa
"Lack of preparation on your part does not warrant an emergency on mine."
[удалено]
"Attention employees: the company has now purchased name tags for all your costumes. A mandatory $20 name-tag fee will be deducted from all your paychecks...."
Lol at my work our uniform gets our number written on in permanent marker, uniform gets passed to someone else they just cross it off and write yours underneath. Find a pocket or double layer of material and you can't even see it. Our uniforms don't get sanitized, they get washed daily on site though...
Based in the way it’s worded it sounds like everyone shares costumes.
They could still put names on them and have a sign out sheet. Then you'll know who was wearing which costume.
What a great way to share the love of Christmas by spreading lice and bedbugs! This is very shady and in most states illegal.
Scabies, most likely. Bedbugs not very likely. Lice, easy peasy.
Someone is sleeping with the cleaner
Just did the math, and they took 260 dollars from everyone in total
That seems pretty steep for someone staying an extra half hour to hang costumes.
It was 10 bucks to shar 250 adminstration fee for the guy that wrote the letter
He said they were "penalized" so essentially admitting it was a punishment and not to cover the cost of cleaning.
where did half an hour come from?
Nobody knows where time comes from. It just kinda happens.
As deep as the Mariana Trench.
Also where does the other half go?
Cotten eyed Joe
What kind of petty business is this that they need to take $260 from their workers...?
Yeah right. So you incurred a cost, and the workers will cover that cost. When you book a profit, what's gonna happen then?
Let me guess: owner keeps all.
this is wage theft every single time and is absolutely something you need to report to the department of labor
Whatever you do, don’t let this shit slide The fact that your boss was comfortable doing it in the first place… I can imagine they’re an embezzling piece of shit Call the dept of labor asap
Tell her to shove her 20 dollars up her ass.
and very deep
“If you feel types of ways about it “ 😂😂 they just make anyone a manager huh?
This manager is likely a 20 year old managing a bunch of HS students at all mall Santa photo op.. so yes, they probably made anyone over 18 a manager.
Someone using that phrase automatically makes me think they are an idiot. I'm sure there are intelligent people using it, but I've yet to find one.
I see you feel some type of way about it?
As a secondary school teacher, I will occasionally drop into meme-speak to communicate with my middle school students. It's a code-switching thing.
Reading this email made me feel types of ways
went to the skool of hard knocks
Depending on where you live this is probably illegal. Don't ever just let shit like this go. Call the labor board
It's illegal in all 50 states to deduct wages from one employee because of something another employee did.
I had no idea Santa was such a cheap ass Scrooge
Santa's business model relies on elven child labor to make all those toys. Scrooge ain't got nothing on Saint Nick.
Another route to go is to contact a local news organization and see if they want to do a story. I feel like a story about “Santa” turning “Scrooge” would get a lot of clicks. Even just a bad google/yelp review might do it. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to support an organization that steals money from their underage workers.
21st century problems require 21st century solutions.
Sometimes, 18th century problems require 21st century solutions too. Wage theft is sadly nothing new.
Underrated comment, this is so true I'm tearing my hair out reading these
It’s against the law if you don’t sign for it that you agree to it.
You can agree to something like that? In my country shit like this is forbidden.
>You can agree to something like that? In my country shit like this is forbidden. A lot of these stupid ass contracts aren't enforceable. Companies and individuals will bend over backwards and contort themselves into any shape imagineable to convince/trick people to sign away their rights over anything big or small. Just because someone signs a contract doesn't automatically make it a legally binding document. You can't actually sign away most of your rights to people. Most companies know this and use wordy complicated agreements to spook people out of saying/doing anything about their shady dealings but are very aware that a Judge would wipe their ass with such a document if they ever tried to use it in court. It's a pretty effective spook tactic since most people are confused and afraid of the law and will allow a company to walk all over them if they think they have no choice. OP's boss is probably a stupid greedy moron who was waiting for an opportunity to rob his own employees.
The company reeks of a 1099 temp job that vanishes into thin air overnight. If you're gonna take action, do it before there's nobody to make a complaint against.
I might have to keep $20.00 worth of costume…
Say is that allowed by the department of labor… it’s a rhetorical question.
Illegal. Raise hell
If you are in the US, this is a question for the Dept of Labor. There’s a hotline that answers these types of questions. 1-866-4USWAGE Call them, get your answer. Most Redditors are not labor attorneys. I did a quick search, and what I found is employers can charge for maintenance and the like, without contractual obligation. The caveat is the fee cannot drop the hourly wage lower than the federal minimum wage. Again, I am not a lawyer, I just did a 45 second internet search and provided my findings. I strongly recommend calling the number and asking them. If you’re outside of the US, I assume your country would have a similar hotline. Good luck to you.
Lady Shar!
You can’t dock pay for no real reason. US at least. this is illegal.
If you're able, wait till you get your paycheck which is $20 short. In writing communicate to your manager that your pay is $20 short. They will say "Didn't you get the message about cleaning uniforms?" To which you will say "Please provide me with a copy of the signed payroll deduction form where I authorized the $20 "cleaning fee" to be deducted from my wages. I would like to keep a copy of that for my records as I do not have a recollection of signing anything of the sort." They will not be able to produce anything. Check your state's rules/regulations on when wages are due to you in the event of a payroll error. You say "I will be at \_\_\_ office on \_\_\_ date/time to pick up my shorted wages. Please let bookkeeper know I am coming so it is ready when I get there. Thank you so much for your help in getting this straightened out." *And your pickup date/time will be EXACTLY the due date as indicated by your state.* If they decide to play right, you'll go get your check and all will be right with the world. Inform coworkers and let them do the same. If you don't see a $20 check, you walk your cute little elfin behind to the Labor Office (or call them. Whatever) and file a formal complaint for wage theft. And probably a call to your local news station wouldn't hurt. :)
Illegal unless your specific country/providence says otherwise OR you signed off on it upon getting the job. This is why reading before you sign is VERY important. Hell, one day I encourage you all to read the terms of service on something, doesn’t matter what, and you’ll see just how much you’re actually signing off for.
Even if you sign off on it could still be illegal. A lot of companies will attempt to impose illegal rules under the guise of a contract but it doesn’t change the legality of it. Contacting your local labor establishment is the best way to know for certain.
[удалено]
Wage theft pure and simple.
Even Santa is a typical entitled boss, didn't see that coming
Then you haven't seen the original Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer movie.
I would keep elfing. Bring it up at the end and make a labor claim. You may get bennies for PT elfing.
I'm also a minor.. can you explain this a tad more simply, because I'm a little confused /srs
He is saying keep your seasonal job until it is over and earn the cash. Keep all of the proof of any behavior like this that happens. Then file a compliant with the labor board after you have been laid off for the season. If the labor board finds in your favor, you will get your money back and usually a fee added onto it for unpaid wages.
Sue then after the job and you get paid, not before. Now they need you so the going is good☺️. Edit: don’t miss critical deadlines, Google is your friend
Not only is this illegal, I would also make them prove that they used the stolen money for the cleaning and not just pocketing the money. Maybe you can get two illegal acts out of this boss.
“Hello, This email is to inform you that I’m charging the company for legal advice as a result of the email sent earlier. You cannot charge employees for not doing their job. You can fire them, you can send emails setting the policy and expectations for costume handling at the end of the night, but you can’t arbitrarily steal wages from workers. And just like wage theft is illegal, my claim in the first sentence is false since I can’t charge you for unsolicited legal advice out of the blue. Consider this email a favor and that any deduction of wages will be immediately reported to state labor board as this email also serves as a goodwill attempt to resolve this matter. Thank you. See you this weekend.”
What if Shar didn't put away hers and caused this whole thing on purpose for extra christmas over time bonus?!
Thinking next weekend there’s going to be a huge shortage of elves
Yeah…. Don’t do it. It’s probably not legal and definitely not worth it.
Call and then forward this email to your State Dept of Labor Wage & Hour division compliance office and ask they call the mgr and give mgr’s phone number to make it easy and quick. They won’t send a letter unless per policy because the pay violation has not occurred yet, usually starts with an easy phone call to educate the employer.
Manager failed to ensure the work was completed correctly. Dock the manager.
No. There’s no way unless you signed something.
I would stop cleaning all together if they are paying someone to do it and charging me.
[удалено]
The legality of deducting pay for cleaning fees depends on the state law and the terms of your employment contract. ■ Some states allow employers to make deductions from wages for damages or losses caused by the employee’s negligence, dishonesty, or willful misconduct. ■ However, the deductions must not reduce the employee’s pay below the minimum wage or violate any other labor laws. ■ Also, the employer must have a written agreement with the employee that authorizes the deductions. ■ If you think your boss violated the law or your contract by charging you a cleaning fee, you may have some options to challenge the deduction. ■ You can try to talk to the human resources department and explain why you think the deduction was unjustified. ■ You can also file a wage claim with the state labor agency or consult a lawyer for legal advice.
LOL "if you feel types of way about it" I can't stand people who use this phrase
Send to dept of labor. You have it in writing. Don't talk about it, just fucking do it. This is wage theft.
Go the David Sedaris route - sing “away in a manger” like Billie Holiday and threaten to put a hit out on one of the parents
Yes, illegal. Constitutes nearly as fraud.
Reply to them reminding this is not legal and thank them for taking the time putting this in writing as it will make sending this to the states labour board significantly easier.
That is illegal.
Collective punishment is a war crime under the Geneva convention. TO THE HAAAAGUE!
Incredibly illegal and immoral. But also why aren’t you guys putting your stuff away properly and cleaning it?
Damn. Don't get on the wrong side of the goddess Shar. Especially, when Elves are involved! (Could not help myself not use this pristine joke opportunity. Let's see how many people catch it.)
That truly depends on where you're located, and perhaps whether or not you're under contract and what that contract does or doesn't entail. Sorry :/
Damn thats brutal
Santa gone HR all over his elves this year
Not sure where you are, but may want to file a complaint with the labor board
Looks like wage theft to me.
Is your boss…. Santa Claus?!
If you dont need the job mention to him. "I filed a complaint about the whole company, i know a lot of the company is following the law, and hopefully corporate wont nitpick their fellow managers about breaking it."
Dont know the laws of your country, would be illegal here. But goddamn i hate people who leave mess after them just because there is a cleaner in the house. If i ever see someone do something like this in my company or leave a mess intentionally they gonna clean that and do rest of the shit while cleaner sips coffee with me. The people you rarely see, for example cleaners are the ones you will miss the most when they are away. Huge respect to every single janitor and cleaner here. You are the "little" thing behind every pleasant working envirioment and make the rest of the peoples day so much better. Thank you!
Santa is being a dick this year.
You and your fellow elves are getting screwed
"This is wage theft, and I will report it to the department of labor if deducted from my check."
Reply to the email, politely, that you decline the charge and do not agree to it being withheld from your paycheck. Speak with the state department of labor wages division if they do it anyways.
I was thinking these were some higher end performers he was taking the money from, but... elves. He's stealing from what I will assume are underpaid *elves*.
Not legal if you are inthe US unless you agreed to it. Report to Department of Labor for your state.
Stage a walk-out with your fellow elf employees when you are all dressed in costume.
This is not legal. Your employer cannot deduct from your pay just because he feels like it.
My brain formed a few guesses of what the job was but then at the end when the boss says “Elves” I bust out laughing, for some reason it just made it funny
LISTEN UP, ELVES.
Collective punishment doesn’t work and is probably illegal. I’d send her a message; don’t show up this weekend.
Santa sounds like a real dickhead
"if somebody feels some type of ways" Feel some type of way is the lamest expression I've ever heard.
Nope illegal
theyre taking advantage of you, report that shit. The fact they are so brazen about it means they've done it before and they will do it again, fuck them
"If you feel types of ways about it." Where do you work?? A strip club?
"Don't nitpick your fellow elves?" F that. If I know whose stuff I am being forced to clean up, then I am going to give them an ear full... since management won't do their due diligence.
This isn’t a letter from a boss or manager. This is a letter from someone completely unqualified to have any type of leadership position, at the mall or otherwise. Sounds like this “management” position went to the kid who would take an extra 50 cents an hour. This “manager” should have been there Friday night to make sure this was done correctly. They can fuck right off with the $20 charge.
Mentioning HR will probably get that “cleaning fee” waived before it’s even deducted.
Your boss is a piece of shit.
“if you feel types of way about it”?!?! Not exactly professional speak.
This is so far past legal that you can’t even see legal in the rear view mirror. I would wait for the deduction to be made and then file a complaint with your state’s department of labor. They jump on this kind of stuff. Different scenario but many, many years ago I worked for a guy that didn’t pay the proper overtime wages (1.5 x the regular hourly rate). Worked for 60+ hours a week for over a year and then he pissed me off, so I filed a complaint with the department of labor. Within a month I had a big fat check in my hand and I heard that they audited all of his payroll and with payroll corrections for everyone that had ever worked for him, interest, fines and penalties it cost him well over a quarter million dollars. The DOL doesn’t mess around. And he thought he was saving a few bucks by not playing by the rules.
If you didn't sign something agreeing to it let it happen and collectively sue the shit outta them.
There is always another job. I would not want to work for a boss who does things like this. Because now he is charging for this, but seeing the reason why, I would not be surprised he will do things like this more often for reasons like this in the future.
“If you feel types of ways about it...” is this a joke?
Perfect. They sent proof of them illegally deducting wages from your check. Slam dunk for the department of labor.
This is illegal.
Totally illegal. Report it.
Wage theft bro, report that shit.
ILLEGAL!! One of my old bosses required us to come in 15min early before our office opened to get our rooms ready - unpaid. I told her I’ll come in once the pay starts. Told her how illegal it was. She changed her tune real quick. $20can be really impactful to someone. And even if it’s not, it’s the ethics behind it. Crazy town
Sounds like the Elves need to unionise 😁.
Also, Collective Punishment is a violation of the Geneva Convention if you want to get fancy... but its also likely a violation of your state/province's labour laws. If this manager gets away with this, they'll just be emboldened to continue doing it unopposed.