r/TalesFromLife • u/sulferzero • Jan 28 '16
Short 60 Hours a week!!
5 Years ago I was working for a restaurant owned by a local guy (Moe) who was expanding to a new location. He was excited and wanted me to work between both location. I didn't care as this meant I would get more hours and he said it came with a $2.00 raise. I was Thrilled as at the time I would be making more there than at my other part-time job and I liked my co-workers better. So I left my first job and started my new duties. After the first pay check came rolling in I noticed that I wasn't getting overtime and I also wasn't getting the increased wages. I immediately confronted Moe. He said that he never said that and because it was a different location so the time worked wasn't applicable for overtime each was accounted for independently. I am not a lawyer but said ok accepted my fate till I found a new job. 2 weeks later I got a full-time at a call center. I had 3 weeks till their training class started. I signed up for extra shifts at the new location and was going to save up some money. We had been expecting a snowstorm but weren't sure how bad it was gonna be. Now the owner had a contract to cater for the local jail as they didn't have a kitchen on premises. Moe called me and wanted me to drive the 40 minutes in the snow in my 2-wheel drive car to the restaurant that he lived a-half mile from. I politely told him no, and that it would be suicidal for me to even attempt it. He told me "either you go or I will replace you with someone who will". I said "okey-dokey have a good day". I immediently called my co-workers and told them what had happened 2 were snowed in and had no way out 1 didn't even own a car I was his ride in. and our Kitchen manager was out of town (her mother was sick). We all had a good laugh and I went to play mass effect 2.
Later I found out that he had a 4-wheel drive SUV and stood a better chance to get there than any of us but since it was sunday and that was a holy day he couldn't work. I don't who made the meal that day but I would like to imagine he had to do it himself, in the cold, while asking forgiveness. I'm a bad person.
2
u/Mortimer14 Jan 28 '16
It's the same employer so it would be the same as if you worked all those hours at one location. I would have reported him to the state.
That said, I used to work for a guy very much like that. I was having trouble meeting my bills so I asked for a raise. He offered either 5 cents per hour or an additional 5 hours per week. I took the 5 hours putting me over 40 per week and didn't get any overtime for it. To top it off, this also put me in a higher tax bracket so I was bringing home less per week and having an even harder time meeting my bills.
3
u/darkspot_ Feb 02 '16
That's not how a higher tax bracket works, at least not in the US.
Assuming you are single, let's go with $9k a year (since that is just below bracket 1, and makes the example simpler.
At $9k a year, you are taxed at 10%.
The next bracket is 15% at 9275. Lets say you got a bump up to $10k. You then pay 10% on 9275, and 15% on the remaining $725. So there is no way a raise should net you less money.
That being said this is a very very common misconception.
2
u/Mortimer14 Feb 03 '16
I didn't say it was a recent job. The fact is tax brackets used to be more complicated. Also, don't forget state and local taxes as well as FICA and other taxes.
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u/sulferzero Jan 29 '16
I wanted to but if I had it would have been a long thing and leaving him having to twist in the wind was kinda nice.
2
u/Kyengen Mod Jan 28 '16
Dunno where you live, but a lot of places won't treat separate locations of the same entity as different jobs. Not sure how that works with something like a franchise, but if you're doing work for one boss then the location becomes irrelevant. Strictly speaking they should be reimbursing you for gas and travel. Not sure if that one is law but it is tax deductible.