Request Legal Help Now - Free

Advertisement
LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION

Working at Home Depot: Bigger isn't Better

. By
Home Depot may be one of the biggest home improvement stores, but it certainly needs to improve its employee conditions, especially when it comes to paying overtime.

Home Depot also hires as many temporary personnel as possible so it doesn't have to pay overtime or insurance. (This might explain lack of qualified customer service).

Melinda Devries (not her real name due to a pending lawsuit) helped open a Home Depot store in Vienna, West Virginia in January, 2004. She gave up a good managerial job in a "Mom and Pop" operation to join the Home Depot team and she worked hard. She was promoted in February 2005 by the management team who originally hired her. Little did she know that everyone was leaving, including her operations manager.

"This was bad news because I really liked my old team," says Devries. "When the original team left, the place fell apart.

"I was promoted to front end supervisor and that was the position I was also trained to do, but the new management had other ideas. I ended up working as a cashier, five days a week but about 10 hours per day. However, I was being paid a supervisory salary with no overtime. But I couldn't do this job for that many hours as I have a back condition.

"I talked to HR and wanted to step down from the position, but they told me that I would have to quit in order to step down. My doctor filled out a form saying that I could not do any lifting and only work a 4-6 hour shift because I couldn't stand on my feet longer than that.

"The new manager said if I quit he would put me in training to do something else but I didn't believe him. I didn't get a dime of overtime on my checks as a cashier, so why would I believe anything they told me?

"At Home Depot, the HR department has a third party phone line where employees can call if you feel that something is wrong. You can complain anonymously or not. I gave my name: that was a mistake. There is supposed to be no retaliation but on June 21st, my manager pulled me off the register and said that, because I called the 'aware line', I had to be re-evaluated and there was currently no position left for me.

"What he did is against company policy and state law. This guy said that he would put me on personal leave. I wasn't requesting to be off work without pay. He wouldn't put anything in writing so I retaliated and called the district manager of HR.

"I have been out of work since December 7th. I called HR again and asked for my job back. The new district HR manager told me that I was 'making a mountain out of a molehill' and I could take my old job back but I wasn't owed any overtime payments.

READ MORE ABOUT Employment

Unpaid Overtime Resources

File your [Unpaid Overtime] complaint by completing the appropriate form.

[Unpaid Overtime Information]

READER COMMENTS

Posted by

on
MY FIANC'E WORKED AT HOME DEPO IN ICTORILLE FOR 4 YRS AND WAS EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH TWICE. SHE STOP MANY PEOPLE TRYING TO STEAL THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF MATERIALS BY GOING THROUGH THE GARDEN AREA WHERE SHE WAS CASHIER. SHE HAD MANY PEOPLE APPLY FOR HOME DEPOT CREDIT CARDS AND WAS JUST AN OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEE. NEER GOT OFF ON TIME BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SUPPOSE TO RELIEVE HER FROM HER SHIFTS WERE NEER THERE ON TIME, BUT SHE NEER COMPLAINED.ON JULY 2, 2019 SHE WAS CALLED INTO THE MANAGEMENT OFFICE AND TOLD SHE WAS BEING FIRED BECAUSE I BOUGHT PLANTS AND SHE CHECKED ME OUT AT HER REGISTER IN GARDEN. MIND YOU I AM A DISABLED ARMY COMBAT ETERAN RETIRED AND HAE A HARD TIME WALKING. SHE CHECKED ME OUT AT HER REGISTER SO I WOULD NOT HAE TO WALK ALL THE WAY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BUILDING TO CHECK OUT. SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE COMPANY IT SELF. SHE WAS TOLD THAT SHE WAS FIRED FOR ASSISTING A FAMILY MEMBER. ONLY IN AMERICA

Posted by

on
After being harassed and bullied by a male full-time employee with many witnesses yelling at him to leave myself and other female employees alone on a daily basis. He then proceeded to put a razon blade end into one of my tires, which resulted in a flat tire. He even joked around with me about it, thinking that I didn't know he was the one that did it.

I am also aware that he deals drugs on company property and from his home, which is close by. If I was a vindictive person, I would call a crime hotline for his neighborhood and report him.

What would most of you do if you were in my shoes?

Posted by

on
I work for Home Depot presently as a cashier. I once thought Home Depot as a great company and wanted a part time to supplement my income. I will get out of there as soon as possible. They do not take care of their employees, period.....which they communicate in training that the employees are their 1st priority and the most the important part of Home Depot, It is a very sad situation. 1st quarter 2015 sales of 20+ billion dollars, profit of 2+ billion and the only happy people are the corporate big wigs and their stockholders. Shame on the stockholders, they are buying in to what I would say is the worst sweat shop in the United States, and I am not kidding one little bit. I am ashamed of Home Depot in every way. Their cashiers are requested to have many hats including sales, taking credit application, handling thousands and thousands of dollars DAILY, enforcing thief and much more @ a lousy $9 to $10/hr if lucky. They also do have what they call "a war board" to complicate employee relationships on competition, more shame. They hire mostly part-time to avoid paying any benefits and it takes a year to even get get discounts on employees buying their stock at a discount price or having the opportunity to contribute to 401K plans. They seem to have many chiefs who are paid salary but must work many many hours not getting paid overtime because of taking up the slack on the hourly employees that quit due to the no benefits, low moral and pay. In turn, the chiefs blame the hourly employees on this and not the corporate office!! The chiefs are not very respectful of the hourly because of this situation. I don't understand this and Home Depot is getting away with it! The break rooms have vendor machines with drinks and chips that are higher priced than any vendor machines I have ever seen within the public domain. Again I say shame. One of the training videos for new employees is about UNIONS! "Don't talk to anyone who might ruin the important ways Home Depot takes care of their employees" shame again!! They like to push the Homer Fund to their new employees and do state that it is important to donate even a dollar. This fund is for the employees that are in desperate need of help due to tragic circumstances. I think this is fine and I contribue, but does HOME DEPOT corporation actually donate to the Homer Fund? They may, I have not researched it because I feel such disappointment in Home Depot now that it would not matter to me if they did donate because of the REAL cruelty they show their employees. The turnover will never change because obviously this is the way Home Depot corporate wants it, and stockholders too... again, SHAME on this huge money making machine hurting the people who work for them.

Posted by

on
Currently working at a Home Depot in Northeast PA. I really wanted to work for Home Depot and I was very happy and proud when I got the job, but now I just can't believe how stupid and naive I was.

I love home improvement and have done extensive remodeling on my own as I bought a fixer upper. I spent so much money at my local Home Depot and thought it would be a good place to work. Big mistake.

There are people who have been there just way too long. Their kids work there. Their boyfriends work there. You get the picture. There's one woman who has three children working at the same Home Depot. These kids don't need full-time jobs when there are so many people out there with families to support who could use a break.

There is a ridiculous high school culture here. There is such a division between the full-time employees and it affects all employees no matter how hard you try to stay out of it.

There's a new manager, but I don't really know if that will fix the problems here. They should get rid of the ASMs who have been running the store however they like. Especially the one who has had corporate called on him several times for sexual harassment.

It's just not a healthy place to work. Employees fear retaliation if they open their mouths. Cutting hours or other ways of screwing with your schedule is one way. (The scheduler here should really be moved to another position because she abuses her seniority to push around people that she doesn't like.)

I should have gone to Lowe's. At least they don't hire family members and they're a little more professional from what I hear.

Just beware of people who have been in their position too long at the same Home Depot store--there's a reason why they've lasted so long and it's not a pretty realization.

Posted by

on
Attorneys heads up. I was a salaried manager for HD for almost 4 years. Based on my personnel experience the leadership and middle management that run this company lack ethics, integrity, and will lie and cheat to win. They have archaic personnel policies in writing that are a violation of their employees civil rights. What a caveman consortium. The open, blatant discrimination towards females was mind boggling. I worked for an RVP that would force you to hug him in front your entire staff. Male on female. He didn't do it to the male managers, and when you would offer your hand for a handshake he would grab you in this big bear hug and make you stand next to him after with his arm around your waist. How inappropriate. I have male friends that are not this forward and for the work place this type of behavior was completely unacceptable. Nothing better than having a supervisor come into your store and fondle you in front of all of your male subordinates. Great example to set! It just got worse from there.
In regard to the OT issue I would suggest the following. Subpoena every conference call note from the District Manager / Store Manager for the timeframe in question. RVP's and DM's tell their SM's NO OT on conference calls on a weekly basis. The SM will be punished if they do not follow the direction. SM's are expected to cut 100 hours or more out of their daily schedules to pull payroll back in line regardless of the circumstances. You get a phone call at 9:00 a.m. and you are told to go out and send everybody home. This basically gives poor service to your customers due to a lack of help, but it also stresses the remaining employees that end up skipping breaks and lunches due to the lack of help in the building. This is apparent when you review daily payroll reports. They have a report that projects OT by associate by day. I have seen associates come in on their day off to help resolve a costly customer issue ( kitchen install $20 or $30K) and then be told that they have to trim the 5 to 6 hours they spent saving the company $30K because OT isn't permitted????? Cross clocking is the real deal. In order to massage payroll reports to meet scorecard expectations the ASDS moves hours worked by employees from one department to the other. The employees DO NOT actually work there, the hours are just reported that way. I can imagine the problems that that type of accepted practice could create throughout the enterprise, can't you?

Posted by

on
I am a part-time cashier for 19 months, when I first started at the interview I was promised 30 plus hours a week, the last month I was told we can only get from 12-29 hours a week pt. 12 hours a week mind you, no one can live on that. Anyhow there are alot of employees that talk down to people, and they do get there overtime but take it from the parttimers. We also have families. They favortize and redicule people on a regular basis....I am looking for a new job and pray real hard for me......This really hurts. Thanks for this site!

Posted by

on
Reading the posts gives me a sense of "maybe I should be working elsewhere". But the fact is that the more I find out about HD and its team environment (gang preference) I can admittedly state that this is not where I want to work. And a greedy corporation such as HD that has over 90% of its consumers goods coming from outside of the US is not where I want to spend my hard earned money. I prefer to spend a dollar more and buy locally to support the local economy. Perhaps small minded but better for the community where I live.
I do have some ideas of how the organization can remedy their organizational shortcomings but I want to see what happens when the %$@# hits the fan and consumers begin to find out what we are doing to our own economy.
HD employs over 300,000 associates. But not all are American. You have China, Canada, and Mexico to account for. On a side note HD closed its expo centers and eliminated 7,000 jobs nationwide. How many of these jobs could have been sent abroad? I wonder!!!

Posted by

on
I feel so stupid... I should have known, when it sounds to good to be true... It usually is. I am completely blown away by the behavior of the regular employees as well as management.
I was hired 3/2012 as a temp seasonal employee, with the possibility for hire at the end of the 120 day commitment. I worked my A&$ off for them. They said jump I said how high... blah blah blah.... When I wasnt hired close to the end of the 120 days, ALL EMPLOYEES , (with the exception of about 5 people) WOULDNT EVEN LOOK AT ME, LET ALONE TALK TO ME! I would blatantly speak very loud to say Hello, or How are you... and they would turn around and look me in the face and keep on walking. Even my DH. UNFREAKINGBELIEVABLE! This is the most unprofessional thing I have ever seen. So many policies ignored. Even very serious policies such as HAZMAT issues. I am just really shocked by the whole thing.... I take comfort in knowing that even though I didnt get hired (by the end I wouldnt have accepted the position anyway) I still have my work ethics intact as well as my self respect. Which is alot more than I can say for THE HOME DEPOT.

Posted by

on
everyone that is getting screwed with the overtime at home depot needs to talk to an attorney

so you can sue their a## hard and they don't pull bullsh&t like that ever again on other employees

Look everyone the law says if you work overtime you get paid overtime money no questions asked period !!!

I suggest you guys that have or are getting screwed with overtime do something about it that is totally wrong and illegal what these company,s are doing.

That's bullsh&t I don't personally do not work there at home depot but from reading this review it ticks me off how this stupid company takes advantage of the little guy
when they are making millions

And people are just trying to earn a living on $10 dollars an hour or so then they ask you can you stay wee need you for a little while

Then sacrifice yourself to work overtime for these guys when it's your time to go home and enjoy your family
and they don't want to pay What the F*ck is That People !

Sue their A## call the better business bureau put it on the news paper blog about it get the word out there that these bastards don't want to pay what you earned .......

If I ever get screwed like that by any employer believe me People you will see post on wiki pages , blogs , ezines , yahoo answers , youtube videos you know what i mean just get the word out there to let people know what these fools are all about ...

well i hope this post helps everyone good luck !

Posted by

on
WARNING!!!!
Don't contact the aware line if you love your job.

If you report a shrink consern to MANAGEMENT, and watch as they do nothing, there really is nothing to do about it. Nelson(LP), has been in my store numerous times, since I called. And still they associate who steals time, is still a TOP associate.
I have not seen any change in her regularly scheduled 12 o'clock disappearing act, or her 2hour lunch, or her 30 minute, 15minute breaks(PAID)twice a day!!.Or in her, "I am leaving early", to cut overtime,(on a MONDAY, really?), soooo in a 8hour shift she gets to be paid 2hours for not working , she isn't even on THD property.

I repoted her.(to the awareline, I used me real name) I got a department transfer.!!!! I refused the interview for the transfer, but still was transfered/cross clocked.
I am a part time employee with an availabilty o f 20-25 hours per week. I currently work 40+ hours per week.
No STATIS CHANGE, which means I pay the inflated rate for health insurance.

Posted by

on
Wow. They're great at giving the impression that they care about their employees when really, they're just the big, greedy corporation that we assumed they were in the first place. Strange. No wonder there are certain types of people up at the top. I can only assume that I'll never be promoted because I believe in fairness and equality and that's apparent.

ADD YOUR COMMENT ON THIS STORY

Please read our comment guidelines before posting.


Note: Your name will be published with your comment.


Your email will only be used if a response is needed.

Are you the defendant or a subject matter expert on this topic with an opposing viewpoint? We'd love to hear your comments here as well, or if you'd like to contact us for an interview please submit your details here.


Click to learn more about LawyersandSettlements.com

Request Legal Help Now! - Free