I'm extremely curious to find out if/how many other employees out there have encountered an expectation/acceptance of working off the clock. Night crew foreman is treated as a salary position, especially with the key retailing policies in place and ELMS. Anyone??? This is illegal and against the "ethics" of Kroger. Does this only happen at my store?!
I am a self-starter and like to get things done as well. What I don't like is being expected to put in hours of extra free time and skip breaks, and then still being treated without respect. This is a normal at my store and there have been class action lawsuits in other states regarding this same issue. I know it is illegal and against policy, but policy and reality are two different things at this store. I wonder how widespread this violation is across the country. I didn't and would not have accepted a salary night crew position.
Sure, it's against company policy everywhere....But sooner or later, even in places that have been labled in class action law suits (and lost), the same game is re set and re engaged. It's a bet that they will make up more in profit from reduced pay roll and boosted sales than they lose in even repetitive fines. And the crazy part? They're apparently right. That's why the practice persists.
I've actually heard it said in closed door meetings to "...do whatever you have to with your people to make your bonus. Just don't make us look bad (i.e., don't land us in court)."
I never skip my breaks. If I'm so busy that I can't take my last break, I make sure that I wait at least 8 minutes past my scheduled off time so I get paid for the overtime.
i never work off the clock. i hate it when peeps do. y have a union and do things that opposed the union. y complain that kroger wants u to work fast and harder. when u r skipping breaks and lunches and working off the clock to impress them. u make ceo's rich y u work hard for a living to let some else have it who doesnt need it. y cut someone hours. i know kroger have unrealistic times that a worker should complete tasks but y would i break my back for a job. i know peeps who want to impress management and have had surgeries when they got older from injuries. it is very common. its not worth it to work that hard and fast. n y should u be rewarded. if i was kroger's, i wouldnt cover any of you if u got injured off the clock.
I've had to work off the clock nearly every week. It was the only way to get what needed to be done, done and to pass the audits. It was normal behavior where I worked and the produce manager and the long time 40 hour full timer did it as well. It wasn't unknown to the management either, they just pretended they didn't know. I was the back up.
A fellow co-worker worked off the clock for over an hour tonight. I left before she did. She told me she feels the need to stay until the job is done, whether she gets paid for doing it or not. It's just her "personal belief," she says. She doesn't want to leave work for others. It doesn't seem as if she expects that kind of behavior from anyone else though. She told me to "do as I say, not as I do." While I think a work ethic like that is very admirable, I also think it's utter bullcrap that it comes down to that. If there's that much excess work, that should not be the "solution."
