Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Walmart says: "Not Currently Scheduled" Until You Starve to Death

Worked at Walmart for about a year, my fiance started shortly after. We had just signed a lease on a duplex and contracts for utilities etc and got our first place together. I have worked on my credit for a long time now.


A couple of months ago I injured my back at work causing me to miss quite a bit of time. When I returned for full duty I seemed to return to a passively hostile work environment. My manager began scheduling me for lower and lower hours. Then my schedule began changing late in the evening after I had left without any notice. Luckily I had email alerts on and my phone would chime. Well I was scheduled off on a Monday. Made plans to drive down and visit my parents. After already leaving that day I checked my email on some down time and found an email from 11:45pm telling me my schedule had changed. Well, no big deal it's happened a lot recently. I check my schedule and they had changed my schedule to say I was supposed to be there at 7am that day(Monday) which of course caused me to miss the day.


After this incident my schedule changed again that night. The previously current week and both future posted weeks read "Not Currently Scheduled". I called them and asked if I was fired. They told me no and I left it at that and began searching for a new job. A few weeks went by and no new job, but I still get new schedules saying "Not Currently Scheduled". I called and asked if this was an attempt to let me go. The manager I talked to said he knew nothing of the situation and that I am currently still an employee. A month later and not able to pay our bills and savings gone I file for unemployment. By "coincidence"(I believe retaliation) my fiance's manager approached her the day after the request happened and told her she is getting an involuntary vacation. We checked her schedule and for the foreseeable future she is "Not Currently Scheduled". She tries very hard at work and is very passive and quiet and doesn't backtalk. (I am an ***hole when angered) They have absolutely no reason to dismiss her she is a good employee. They tell her today they can't schedule her because they don't have the hours available, but recently hired 2 new people for her department and gave them the hours that they used to give her.


As a result we are now unable to pay our bills and my credit that I have worked my entire adult life to keep pristine is about to take a HUGE hit. I have contacted a lawyer, and he informed me there is nothing we can do and it is a form of "Constructive Termination". Basically they keep you hired until you either quit or find a new job so that you can't file unemployment against them. As a result my unemployment has just been a giant fight and it doesn't look like it's going to happen. We are going to lose everything we have worked for, because of Walmart and how it cares for it's employees and their well-being.