7 Examples of How Your Retail Store Employer Is Taking Advantage Of You

If you work in retail, there are several ways that you may not be getting fully compensated, and your retail store employer is taking advantage of you.

For example, if your employer requires you to purchase clothing from its store or to wear clothing of a specific color or design (such as wearing all black), then you should be compensated for these purchases.

If your employer requires you to have your bag or coat check when entering or leaving the store off-the-clock, then you should be paid for the time spent undergoing these security searches.

If your employer requires you to call into work to see if you are scheduled for a shift, then this may be considered work time for which you should be paid.

If your employer requires you to clean or stock the store when you are not clocked in, you should be paid for these hours worked.

If your employer does not provide you a meal break for every 5 hours you work or a rest break for every 3.5 to 4 hours worked, then you are entitled to an hour of pay for each missed break.

If your employer requires you to drive to the bank to make deposits or deliver items to another location, then you should be paid for this time and compensated for mileage.

If you are a store manager or assistant store manager, even if you are paid salary, you should be paid overtime and provided breaks if you spend more than 50% of your time on non-managerial tasks, such as helping customers, stocking, or running the cash register

Aiman-Smith & Marcy is a boutique plaintiffs’ law firm based in Oakland, California. Our attorneys specialize in representing employees and consumers in individual and class action lawsuits for wrongful termination, discrimination, misclassification as a temporary worker, and for failure to pay wages, including overtime, meal and rest breaks, and failure to reimburse for expenses as required by law or agreement.