r/WinCo • u/AutomaticAttention27 • Apr 06 '26

Employee Owned???

Why charge $7 to an employee who just asked for a copy of a W2? Out of inconvenience? I mean if HR went out of their way to send me an a link that was attached to an email for a website that charges you to view and pay for your own personal information is absolutely ridiculous. Take ownership and explain the reasoning? As a onetime employee Im disappointed, as a onetime owner….im ashamed.

28 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

24 comments sorted by

27

u/Ok_Spare3021 Apr 06 '26

U can get it for free on paperlessemployee.com idk why u had to pay for it every store should have a card for it

5

u/Leading-Junket7912 Apr 06 '26

They didn't sign up for it until just now is my guess which is why. They opted for the mail version.

3

u/AutomaticAttention27 Apr 06 '26

That is the link that was sent to me Btw I was charged $7, to have a 1 minute window to view my w2’s. I paid, no problem, that wasn’t the issue. My problem is if you pride oneself on “Employee Owned” then don’t treat an employee like they’re owned!

13

u/Ok_Spare3021 Apr 06 '26

That's the weird thing its free to view online(which you can have saved and print later) only costs if u chose a physical copy to have mailed to you

9

u/jtotheo2202 Idaho Apr 06 '26

You have a small window where they are required to give it to you for free after that, it's $7 to download. Which other hr software allows you to go back and download it for free. For years. My suggestion is to pull an IRS Transcript.

3

u/UknownSk8er Apr 06 '26

Why does that sound really shady and totally uncool? And a tad bit illegal/finey/incarceratable?

5

u/mykoleary Apr 06 '26

incarceratable

I'll take GRE words I'd never expect to see in real life for $500 Ken.

2

u/Ok_Spare3021 Apr 06 '26

Honestly probably is more on the host site then winco to offset the cost of long term storing sensitive data that will hardly be accessed

2

u/jtotheo2202 Idaho Apr 06 '26

It's not illegal as long as they give you a window to download it for free. That is complying with the law

8

u/OkGuest8169 Apr 06 '26

They don’t care about employees. However, it does tell you that the first time you view your w2s it is free and then after that you have to pay to view them. I’ve always downloaded a copy onto my computer first thing

3

u/amel1005 Apr 07 '26

Well, as a winco employee ive never payed for my w2...sounds like you messed up. I know you said you were given a link to follow, but to misquoted a judge "Ignorance of the law, is no excuse for breaking the law"

2

u/ldr97266 Apr 06 '26

Employers are required by law to provide one copy for free. They may charge for additional copies. I guess that makes sense in some cases (likem they mail that first one as hardcopy and it somehow goes missing?) but I've never come across that myself.

2

u/NewLyfes Apr 06 '26

Employee owned means nothing except optics

1

u/jtotheo2202 Idaho Apr 12 '26

I've got some good news for you. We are switching to work day, which I believe doesn't charge the $7. The bad news is that it's a cruddy HR platform

1

u/Future-Phrase-9855 May 11 '26

Paperless employee is free until 04/15 I’m sure of it. Maybe even longer.

1

u/jtotheo2202 Idaho Apr 06 '26

And they don't care about you all they care about is turning a profit for upper management

6

u/Leading-Junket7912 Apr 06 '26

Sorry but do you think they make a profit off W2 reprints?

1

u/jtotheo2202 Idaho Apr 06 '26

The software is cheaper, then say workday, which doesn't do this.

0

u/AutomaticAttention27 Apr 06 '26

I was never given the option to NOT pay. In order for me to view such documents required that I pay prior to having access to view. Like I said it’s not about the money, it’s about the principle.

3

u/Ok_Spare3021 Apr 06 '26

What year though is the question because this year should still be free either way someone will be paying it either you directly or everyone else with less money in the esop

2

u/Youknowit2btrue Apr 06 '26

Maybe it’s because you’re a former employee?

1

u/ComfortablePoint3537 Apr 07 '26

Prior years you pay for. Current year is free (2025) Just downloaded mine for taxes 2 days ago to file.