[birdiemom]

What??? I don't know where you heard Publix is lowering wages but it is false. I work for Publix and have for the past 8 years in Payroll & Time Administration and know for a fact that is not so.

Where did you get this info

[RedWingsFan]

That's sad to see (the wages being lowered). And I know the union wants to act like they can fix it, but they can't. Even if the company gets the union in there the people will then have to pay union dues, so they won't be any further ahead.

[gypsychic]

Can't the title of this thread be edited? For some reason people are still not catching that this was from an OLD article.

PUBLIX IS NOT LOWERING WAGES!

[MB2]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Congrats to MovingbacktoPA! I am so excited for you!

I sincerely hope someone day that we have a really nice City-Data party with everyone. That would be great!

Hey....you are on!!! lol
Can't wait to indulge in southern hospitality again...Questions for you....Does the "cottoneyed joe" still exist? (it's got to be close/ near knoxville, if not in it) I love that place

[MB2]

Originally Posted by birdiemom

What??? I don't know where you heard Publix is lowering wages but it is false. I work for Publix and have for the past 8 years in Payroll & Time Administration and know for a fact that is not so.

Where did you get this info

Hi there
I was a bad girl and got some overtime last night!! LOL!!!
I guess what happened here was the fact, that it was a miscontrued article about lowering wages. I've been explaining in great detail on publix' operation work, and for me, it is/ was (comes may 4th) a great place to work, made tons of friends (customers and co-workers likewise), and I also pointed out, what publix does for the community! (That is not well puplizised, for some unknown reason, which charity work puplix is involved in....let me tell you, it's mind boggeling, and the money we all have raised during the years is PHENOMINAL!!!)
I am proud, to have been part of it!

[Nirvana-Guy]

Originally Posted by MovingBack2PA

Thank you so much, hik!
The reason I say it is a good place to work is, that is HAS changed, and employees have gotten more legal rights. (Yes, even here in flroida, where it is a "right to work state" )

Well, I will truly miss all my customers so much, because we will be moving to PA comes May 4th!!!!

You are VERY LUCKY to be leaving the "Sunshine-wages state". You will most likely have a better life in PA, as I will have a better life in NC. Wages and cost ofliving are better in these states, so life will be much sweeter.

Workers have more rights, even in FL? Oh boy.... another one that is being deceived by the system. Ok, are we all ready for a quick legal FYI session from a law firm worker?

NOTICE: THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE AND I AM NOT A LAWYER. THIS IS MEANT TO INFORM PEOPLE OF HOW BAD THE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND PROTECTIONS ARE IN FL. IF YOU HAVE A CASE, YOU MUST CONTACT AN ATTORNEY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE FOR LEGAL ADVICE ON THE SPECIFICS OF YOUR CASE. EVERY CASE IS DIFFERENT AND THERE ARE TIME LIMITS ON THE LAW, SO CALL YOU LAWYER CERTIFIED BY THE FLORIDA BAR NOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT BENEFITS AND THE LAW OR WHAT YOU CAN AND CANNOT GET, ETC!! DO NOT ASSUME YOU DON'T HAVE A CASE JUST BECAUSE OF THIS POST. AGAIN, THIS IS JUST SO PEOPLE HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW REVOLTING FL LABOR LAWS ARE!

Please look at the next post and this is getting a little long for 1 post:

[Nirvana-Guy]

With that said, let's got for it. Let's start with the "at-will" law.

At-Will employment (right to hire and fire state law):

This one is pretty straightforward. You can be hired and/or fired at anytime for any reason, unless it is because of your race, religion, etc. So they can fire you for:

-Not speaking Spanish (even if you were not originally required to do so). This is VERY common.
-Boss doesn't like your new haircut.
-In Disney's case: you did not shave one day and that violated rules.
-Boss wants to save money and fires you.
-Boss hates your choice in ties and your belt is brown and you are wearing black shoes.
-Getting injured at work while performing daily duties (ver common too).

No reason needed, no reason given. Oh the FL law allows employers to deny you a reference. Lovely.

Unemployment insurance:

This one is pretty bad. Let's say you were fired for no real reason (which, believe me, the employer will come up with something, whether it is true or not).

-Let's say you are fired under the "at-will" laws above because your boss hates your new haircut or they are downsizing or whatever. You file for benefits and you have to wiat 30 days. That means 30 days without any income coming in.

-Once 30 days (from the date the unemployment office has sent the employer a letter notifying you filed for benefits) the employer will have a chance to fight your unemployment claim. If he comes up with a reason (ANY reason), there is pretty high chance you will be denied. If you get denied, then you have to appeal. Let's got for another 30 days of waiting for the boss to respond again. There will be a telephonic hearing with a hearing officer who really doesn't give a crap about you and how strapped for cash you are. If the haring goes well and the officer on the phone (who HOPEFULLY speaks some English) feels bad for you, then you will get some benefits from here on.

-Mind you, while this is going on, 60-days have elapsed. You have been looking for a job, as you don't want to work for Mickey D's and feel betrayed by your employer. Still 60-deays and not $1 received for being fired over nothing.

-Now here is the kicker. A lot of employers will come to you and say you will be fired. Then they will have two-weeks of pay in a check ready for you. But right before they make the offer, they will say something like "look, you take the two-weeks 'severance pay' and sign a paper saying you quit volunatrily and then we will give you a reference (mind you, they won't say a GOOD reference, just a reference)". This way you cannot file for unemployment or risk them giving your future employer a bad reference. So you feel pressured and take 2-weeks pay. Mind you, in FL the job market for anything paying more than $10 - $12 will be an uphill battle and you will probablky be unemployed for several months. Mind you, if you search the forum, you will find a ton of people who have been unemployed for several months (incuding one thread I saw called 'all I wnat for Christmas is a job'.

Work comp:

Now, here is the sickening one. Workman Compensation. This is when you are injured at work (regardless of employee or employer negligence).

-In FL, the law changed in such a way now that if an insurance company doesn't pay your benefits and you get a lawyer and sue for benefits, the insurance company does NOT have to pay for the attorney's fees (even though the insurance company is denying a benefit you have a RIGHT to). That is very unfair to workers who are penalized for asking of what is rightfully theirs. The employee has to pay

-Insurers are not paying people anything for 6 months because there is no reason for them to. They can just ignore the injured worker and not pay and then pay 1 day before 6 months. Now mind you, can ANYONE go 6 months without any income while injured??

-Let's say you are a NASA engineer and you make $100/h. Then we have a construction worker who makes $10/h. If the NASA engineer and the construction worker both lose their fingers in a work-related accident (say a desk feel on their fingers and crushed them) -the BOTH get the SAME EXACT AMOUNT OF COMPENSATION. How absurd is that??? Doesn't the NSA guy make 10x as much as the construction guy??

-Loss of earning capacity will only get you 104 weeks of benefits. That means if you are paralyzed at work, that is all you get. I am almost sure it's between 65% - 70% of your wage and there is a cap of how much you can collect per week (something like $700/week maximum).

Anyone who think the laws are fair to workers here are insane and need some pills and a nice chat with a shrink.

Welcome to FL. Enjoy working with no benefits, getting paid in Sunshine Dollars, and be viewed as crap.

[Jammie]

Originally Posted by birdiemom

What??? I don't know where you heard Publix is lowering wages but it is false. I work for Publix and have for the past 8 years in Payroll & Time Administration and know for a fact that is not so.

Where did you get this info

Sorry I am not able to alter the headline on this thread. Birdiemom, I got the info from the internet and I have provided the link. The problem is that it was an outdated story and it happened in 2002. Yes, Publix did lower wages and change their pay scale, BUT it didn't happen now. I'm sorry that it has caused a lot of confusion and all I can do is either delete the thread or continue explaining that I was mistaken and that the story isn't a new one.

[MB2]

Nirvana-Guy
As you read before am I employed at Publix, and never had to deal with any of that (Thank god!)
Is that EVERYWHERE in FL?
Did I sign something to that affect somewhere down the road????
Everyone has to sign papers to be employed....nope, never really read to much into detail, because it would have taken way to long. I'll bet it was somewhere in the fine print, wasn't it!?
Why is FL so much different in the labor laws, compared to other states???
I just don't get that......
Thank's for the info though...huh, that's a little whammy there!!!

[tallrick]

Also I spoke with a friend who works for Publix maintaining their POS systems and he actually got a small raise last year. Not enough to prevent him leaving Florida, but not bad either.