Retail Worker Rights

Retail Workers’ Rights Lawyer

You’re supposed to be an assistant manager, but it feels like all you do is stock shelves, and deal with Karens.  You haven’t had a break.  You were on your way out when a customer came in.  You’re a retail worker.  Just because the customer is always right, doesn’t mean you don’t have rights. 

Harassment and Discrimination in Retail

Like all California employees you are entitled to a workplace free from harassment and discrimination based on your personal characteristics like your age, race, gender, sex, religion, or disability.  You’re also entitled to be free from retaliation for complaints of illegal activity, or unsafe working conditions.  You’re also entitled to worker’s compensation if you get injured on the job. 

Misclassifying Retail Employees - Why Everyone is an “Assistant Manager”

Retail workers are often misclassified as exempt employees.  They are often given impressive sounding titles like assistant manager, or manager, or assistant to the manager.  Some are even given salaries and expected to work long hours.  But, most of those employees aren’t actually managers when you dig a little deeper.  In fact, if you look closely, you’ll see that many so-called managers do the same work as the employees in the back, behind the register, or on the floor.  These employees are misclassified as exempt.  But, in reality they are entitled to time and half for all hours worked in excess of 8 in a day, and double time for all hours worked in excess of 12 in a day. 

Can my employer require me to wear clothes I have to buy from the store?

Retail workers are often required to use their own tools to do their jobs.  They’re unlawfully required to buy uniforms.  They’re unlawfully required to use their own cell phones.  They are also required to call in to see if they have shifts.  That’s time that they had to work and they aren’t getting paid.

San Francisco has the Formula Retail Employee Rights Ordinances (FRERO) regulate hours, retention, and scheduling, and treatment of part-time employees at some Formula Retail Establishments. Establishments with at least 40 stores worldwide and 20 or more employees in San Francisco are covered.  Covered employers must offer any extra work hours to current qualified part-time employees in writing first.  In addition, covered employers must:

·       provide new employees with a good faith written estimate of the employee’s expected minimum number of scheduled shifts per month and the days and hours of those shift; and

·       provide employees with their schedules two weeks in advance.

Schedules may be posted in the workplace or provided electronically, so long as employees are given access to the electronic schedules at work.  If changes are made to an employee’s schedule with less than seven days’ notice, the employer must pay the employee a premium of 1 to 4 hours of pay at the employee's regular hourly rate (depending on the amount of notice and the length of the shift).  If an employee is required to be “on-call,” but is not called in to work the employer must pay the employee a premium of 2 to 4 hours of pay at the employee's regular hourly rate (depending on the amount of notice and the length of the shift).

If you’re a retail worker, you have rights.  If you’re working the floor, even though you’re called a manager, or you’re not reimbursed for using your cell phone for work, or you’re required to call in every day to see if you have to work tomorrow, your rights might have been violated and you may be entitled to compensation.  An experienced retail workers’ rights attorney can help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.