DiscoLemonade
New Member
Hi,
I have been waiting tables at a country club in Massachusetts for just over a month, and since the beginning of my employment my manager and I have rubbed shoulders. When I was hired she said I should expect $100-150 per shift, and that the dining room wouldn't get busy until the fourth of July weekend. All but two shifts fruited over $60. I held my tongue, and held less and less respect for that manager.
The other day, I called out sick and forgot to call her directly; I instead called the restaurant looking for the manager on duty since she doesn't work Fridays. No manager was there. She texted me just before my shift was supposed to start at five: "Well I just want to know why you didn't call my cell to call out of work?" I replied that I wanted to get in touch with the manager on duty and that I had honestly forgotten to call her. She called me as soon as my reply was sent and brought up all the issues she's had with me, and as I tried to get a word in she refused to let me. Yelling ensued and she told me to finish out the week. I would be glad to, I said. Yelling continued and she hung up on me.
After a moment, she called back. I answered and apologized for letting things get out of hand. She became defensive and then told me she wants me to come in the next day to drop off my uniform and pick up the check I had waiting for me.
It seems clear to me that she has been looking for a reason to fire me, considering I had never called out before, always worked when I was called-in, and this very week I picked up a shift for someone who did not want to work on a day when I was on-call. She only remembers Monday, when I was sent home early because of an unfavorable proportion of patrons-to-waitstaff, and the one time I confronted her about telling another employee that she could leave early even though she and I each worked a double shift that day and I - not the other waitress - was scheduled to work the next morning. Whether or not I was in the right to confront her about something so trivial, I think it telling of that manager since she had left mid-shift to buy a handle of margaritas for her and that waitress for after the shift.
While I am relieved to no longer be her employee, I am a college student home for the summer trying to save money for a semester abroad. And now, mere days before August, I am unemployed. My best plan now is to move back to the city where I go to college and start my school job early.
So my question is this: Can I demand my last check before it will be cut in order to have enough money to fund my trip to the city so I can find an apartment and continue that job?
Best,
- B
I have been waiting tables at a country club in Massachusetts for just over a month, and since the beginning of my employment my manager and I have rubbed shoulders. When I was hired she said I should expect $100-150 per shift, and that the dining room wouldn't get busy until the fourth of July weekend. All but two shifts fruited over $60. I held my tongue, and held less and less respect for that manager.
The other day, I called out sick and forgot to call her directly; I instead called the restaurant looking for the manager on duty since she doesn't work Fridays. No manager was there. She texted me just before my shift was supposed to start at five: "Well I just want to know why you didn't call my cell to call out of work?" I replied that I wanted to get in touch with the manager on duty and that I had honestly forgotten to call her. She called me as soon as my reply was sent and brought up all the issues she's had with me, and as I tried to get a word in she refused to let me. Yelling ensued and she told me to finish out the week. I would be glad to, I said. Yelling continued and she hung up on me.
After a moment, she called back. I answered and apologized for letting things get out of hand. She became defensive and then told me she wants me to come in the next day to drop off my uniform and pick up the check I had waiting for me.
It seems clear to me that she has been looking for a reason to fire me, considering I had never called out before, always worked when I was called-in, and this very week I picked up a shift for someone who did not want to work on a day when I was on-call. She only remembers Monday, when I was sent home early because of an unfavorable proportion of patrons-to-waitstaff, and the one time I confronted her about telling another employee that she could leave early even though she and I each worked a double shift that day and I - not the other waitress - was scheduled to work the next morning. Whether or not I was in the right to confront her about something so trivial, I think it telling of that manager since she had left mid-shift to buy a handle of margaritas for her and that waitress for after the shift.
While I am relieved to no longer be her employee, I am a college student home for the summer trying to save money for a semester abroad. And now, mere days before August, I am unemployed. My best plan now is to move back to the city where I go to college and start my school job early.
So my question is this: Can I demand my last check before it will be cut in order to have enough money to fund my trip to the city so I can find an apartment and continue that job?
Best,
- B
