Mandatory unpaid training should be illegal!! ...oh wait...
So, I feel like this is a pretty common issue, but, I'm just really fired up about it, and I need to get it off my chest, so here I am.
So, after looking for work other than DoorDash for the last couple years, I finally landed one!! 👐🏻 Yay! 👐🏻 It is absolutely not my dream job, by far, but 🤷🏻♀️. I have some things going on behind the scenes that have more than likely been hindering me from employment for quite some time now, and I was completely unaware of it until a series of unfortunate events that lead me to educating myself, and now I can't talk specifics about the "things going on behind the scenes" until the litigation process is done and over with.
Now, this new job...ugh...
I'm super excited, and super grateful! But....I was given a link and log in credentials for some training videos, and was told once they were completed, I'd receive 4 hours compensation. So, when I got off work last night, I got to work! I logged in at 6:30 thinking I'd knock them out real quick and go on about my night.
About 1 am, I finished!!
So, this morning, I'm chatting with a coworker, and come find out, the company asked them to do 3 days worth of videos (which I'm assuming equals out to about 18-20 hours), and only offered and compensated her 6 hours!!
It was mentioned that they "didn't give it a second thought because it was a requirement."
🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
This broke my heart!!
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!! THEY ARE MORE THAN JUST A FEW SENTENCES THAT POLICE RATTLE OFF TO CRIMINALS WHEN THEYRE BEING PUT IN THE BACK OF A POLICE CAR!!!!!
If training is mandatory and job-related, employers generally have to pay you for that time. It doesn’t magically become free labor just because you watched the videos at home, and they know EXACTLY how long the run time is.
For my little 2 hours...I always believe you should pick your battles wisely, and I need this job currently, but I think from here on out, I will simply feel uncomfortable completing any task at home. My coworker on the other hand....my heart goes out to them. That's absurd!
The "behind the scenes" thing I mentioned has to do with the point I'm making as well! If I had been even a little aware of my rights, the situation I'm dealing with now may not have turned into as big of an issue that it is now.
Please please please educate yourself! Labor laws matter! The Fair Credit Reporting Act matter! CIVIL RIGHTS MATTER!!
That is all, thank you for listening to my rant! 😆