JOIN THE BOOMING
DOLLAR-STORE ECONOMY!
felt a pinch in her neck, and “an
immediate stabbing pain,” she recalled. The strain would eventually lead to X-rays, MRIs, physical
therapy and recommendations to
see a neurosurgeon, according to
Hughey’s medical records. Hughey
was put on work restrictions by her
doctor, but continued clocking in.
As the pain got worse, her doctor told her to take two weeks off.
On her third day back on the job,
she was called into a meeting with
her district manager, according
to Hughey. “He told me we were
going to part ways,” Hughey recalled. The manager said Hughey
was being let go due to productivity problems that predated her
injury. Hughey then began what
would turn out to be a two-year
battle over workers’ compensation
due to her health problems.
Recent strikes by workers at fast
food restaurants and at Walmart
have helped spark a national discussion about pay and working
conditions in the retail sector.
Dollar stores like Hughey’s are a
growing piece of that world, as
companies like Dollar General have
managed to take on Walmart in the
discount retail game. The New York
Times Magazine wrote that the
influx of more affluent shoppers
HUFFINGTON
10.06.13
at these stores has helped create
a “dollar-store economy” in the
wake of the Great Recession.
But the stingy payroll required
by the dollar-store business
model leaves many employees
overworked, underpaid and even
injured, according to workers and
litigation filed over labor practices. While further promotions
await some managers, for many
the leadership job they longed for
isn’t a road to the middle class so
much as a glorified manual labor
gig that quickly burns them out.
In interviews and court documents, former and current store
managers claim major dollar-store
companies classify them as managers merely to evade overtime obligations and to pay them less money. Those managers’ employees, in
turn, have accused the companies
of illegally shorting them on pay
and forcing them to work off the
clock due to payroll constraints.
Several workers told The Huffington Post that they lost their
jobs or their hours once they got
hurt or encountered health problems, leading to bitter feelings and
long legal battles.
“We’re disposable,” Hughey said.
A NEW STORE EVERY SIX HOURS
The number of dollar stores in
the U.S. has roughly doubled over
the past decade, the full tally