Stella Grace 2m 543
The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
I worked at McDonalds for a month. I took the low pay for what it was because I needed income to raise my daughter, no matter how low the profit would be.
It went fairly well as time went on. I made coffee, ran the drive thru, and eventually worked my way into the kitchen area. Several people had quit their job there and they needed me in several spots. I let them know when I was first interviewed that I had scoliosis so there would be certain things I wouldn’t be able to lift (things that weighed over 30 pounds). They took advantage of me quickly. I worked constantly and had long hours.
It was helping to raise my daughter so I pushed through it and figured I’d find something that paid better as time went on. What I wasn’t expecting was being injured on the job and being fired for it. I was working the drive thru one day and I lifted a few too many huge containers that contained fresh tea I had just made. I let a manager know that my neck started to hurt badly, and he still did not let me sit down.
The McDonalds I worked at did not give breaks, nor did they let people have bathroom breaks unless you were the manager on the shift. Everyone knew it was unfair, and after a few months went by I was made aware by a friend that I was being paid a lower wage than I legally should have been. It had been so long since I had a job, I didn’t know that the pay was supposed to be above $7.25 yet I was being paid $7.25 when I got the job.
That wasn’t what bothered me so much, though. They refused to document that I got hurt therefore there was no hope of me getting worker’s comp. I had to go to the hospital that night and they told me I couldn’t work for 2 weeks. I went to McDonalds and showed them my doctor’s notes and talked to them. When my 2 weeks absence was up, I got my uniform on, and I went to work.
When I got there, they demanded to have their uniforms back. Apparently I had been fired from McDonalds because I supposedly said I was going to sue them for not giving me workers comp. I did not say that, but in South Carolina, you have to fight to work. Here, they can fire you for any reason given or thought of without a second thought.
It’s a law that has been passed and is very well known in South Carolina. I had no other choice but to return my uniforms, figure out how to pay my doctor and hospital bills and find another job. I do not recommend McDonalds as a job anyone should work. The treatment there is unbearable and you never know what effects on your life the treatment might have. I’m going through physical therapy and have to pay out of my own pocket now and I’ve talked to lawyers who say there isn’t anything they can do for me because McDonalds refused to fill out a worker’s comp paper for me.
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