Publix Managers File Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuit

In 2011 I was fired after 6 years of service to Publix for cleaning up the deli sub station that was so bad when I came in that you as a customer and me as a customer would not eat there period. They said that I was closing it down, which I would not do, it was only 5pm. We do not close until 10 pm. It was just humiliating. The store manager was very arrogant and I think he had an agenda. I tried to get my job back but the corporate office said I could not come back for 3 years, I waited the 3 years, I applied after 3years, I was rejected again and they said another 3 years. No explanation! It was very funny that I was the only person the store manager would ask to work overtime when someone would call out. I now work for their competitor and I am very happy!!!! Everyone I worked with were very angry with him and they decided to leave Publix. The Jenkins family were friends of my family in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Mr. Jenkins opened a lot of Publix's with the help of my father who was the President of the Chamber of Commerce in Ft. Lauderdale and Pompano Beach, Fla. He would be rolling over in his grave right now if he knew how the management was running and treating there employees. Publix now hires criminals for there managers. there records are made public.. So why do you have to take a drug test and they look at your criminal record... maybe they want to make you a manager!!!!!

Publix has supervisors that stoled thousands of dollars out of the cash room for months but only asked him to pay it back. And a Riss kid can due a sexual assault on a employee twice and nothing happens to them except a talking to making the work environment stressful for the other employee yet the supervisor does nothing because he is a Riss kid so not legally nor morally right but it's happening they are dishonest and tell you the will take care of the issue but do nothing and then you get demoted from you staff job for making the sexual harassment report to there attention along with the witness to prove it but it gets swept under the rug and the other female employee gets punished it's a same and it makes me sick you can steal and
Can do sexual harassment without punishment that SUCKS

Publix will NOT Allways be a Fortune 100!
Ex 16 year employee. There has always been an obvious Brown Noser Club, but not so obvious as it is now. And when a company does start replacing off of its hard working but expensive employees with cheap untrained and unhappy part timers, the quality of the company and the happieness of the customers suffers. The people at Publix Corp aren't stupid. They know this will ruin the company. They don't care! It will take years to drive the whole place into the ground, and by then they will all be more then rich enough to retire early and happy! There's no one left (that care the way George did) to stop them!
FYI : I was never a manager. Never wanted to be. Never tried to be. Never treated badly. Never had problems. I was always a cake decorator, and always did my thing on the side lines, so I have no reason to "just be bitter and angry" with Publix. So my comments on what an awful place it is today, are strictly as an observer. I have witnessed a lot of BS in my years. I have seen more then enough people get thrown under a bus for no real reason, except that someone else wanted to put them under that bus! Those people are horrible. And an associates "life" should be at home with their families, not at Publix with their heads forced up the A$$ of some manager that thinks he/she is some kind of Publix King/Queen! A job is meant to to finance a life at home with families, not to be a life sentence in hell!

I was never a manager, but did apply for upper management positions during the 29 (plus) years I was with Publix. I did not work in retail, but in the warehouse division. I started off in production, and was promoted to floor management, called a Line Leader, which was an hourly management position. I was then promoted to a highly technical position, of which played a huge part in the operations of the plant. During the time I was in this technical position, I applied for various positions within Publix and was denied. I was a loyal and dedicated employee, with great attendance, and an employee that gave well over 100%. I had the best of evaluations that one could possibly expect, yet still was not given the opportunity for advancement. The story continues...
During the last couple of years with Publix, I was injured while lifting some heavy product. Now, even though I then worked in an office environment, we were made to go into production during production staff shortage, and help out. This usually meant lifting 50 lbs repeatedly. After the injury occurred, Publix sent me to their employee clinic which was a total JOKE. I was made to perform physical therapy when I had just injured my neck, which turned out to be a herniated disk. Well, the Publix employee clinic tried to pull it off that I had a stained muscle. I had to repeatedly ask to be sent for an MRI or a doctor (as I had gone to therapy with no doctor examination), then after several weeks was finally sent for the MRI. The MRI showed I had a herniated disk in my neck, therefore, I should have been allowed to rest the area, not put more stress on it with therapy. The physical therapy should have come later, once the inflammation had a chance to go down. So...Publix was wrong in sending me to THEIR clinic for improper medical treatment. The story continues...
I was then put on workers comp, but yet I did not miss work, and was allowed the benefit to not have to help out in the production areas, I then was able to do MY job. By doing MY job, I was able to continue working without incident. THEN, management came to my department, which consists of just 6 people, and told us we would be responsible for cleaning 4 floors of the plant. This cleaning takes place, along with our already overload of responsibilities of keeping the plant running on a 24/7 basis. This facility, along with all other Publix manufacturing facilities, have their own cleaning department..it's called the Sanitation Department. This sanitation department, in no way, could possibly perform any duty of the technical position in the department I was in. As I was instructed to do, I tried my best to keep these 4 floors clean, however, pushing around industrialized vacuum cleaners, brooms, and mops created extra pain in my neck injury. Due to this, I asked my manager if I could get help from the sanitation department, he said there wasn't anyone to help. R-E-A-L-L-Y???!!! I didn't argue with the manager, but thought to myself, the cleaning is sanitation's responsibilities!!! My responsibilities is to run the plant!! Well, upon cleaning the massive 4 floors of the plant a couple of times, I reported back to management that the work was too much for me with the injury, and asked if I could just perform MY job. This was the end of my career with Publix, as they removed me from my long standing position, and told me if I could not clean the building, then they could not use me. WOW, I was one of the highest paid hourly employees that Publix has company wide , yet they could not get the SANITATION DEPARTMENT to do their job so I could do mine.
I had just under 1,000 hours of sick time that I COULD NOT USE, I could not get FMLA due to the doctor's statement that I could perform some type of work, I could not draw from worker's compensation, so no paycheck of any type.
Here's the kicker...once Publix removed me from my LONG STANDING position (because I couldn't do their added cleaning responsibilities), they gave me 52 weeks to find another position within the company. Having been one of the highest hourly paid employees, there was nothing available to match the income of which Publix took from me. I did, however, apply fro positions, and was turned down for each one.
So...I injured myself at Publix, they came up with a way to get rid of me, and without having to pay unemployment (of which I have never drawn in my life), and denied me further of any opportunities during the 52 week "so called grace period".
During my almost 30 years with Publix, I can truthfully say that the company is NOT what they claim to the public to be. I was there during the time of George Jenkins, and after his passing I saw major changes...none were for the employees. I will say this, if you have a family member or friend that is in higher management, you can expect to have opportunities not available to the rest of the employees. As well, if you are in their Good 'Ole Boy club, you can expect opportunities to come way. Not to mention any "other" favors managers get that will allow certain individuals advancement. Believe me, I was there for almost 30 years, and saw it all.

Number one, I've applied for management for the last 14 years, I have 30 years experience, but I can't get promoted because I am a White Male, which tends to skew any dreams of "Diversity". Also, what about this bullsh*t where I'm scheduled for eight hours per day at the beginning of the week, then expected to work much longer than that, and then I'm forced to take off the overtime later in the week. I have NO option; I will be disciplined if I fail to do so. Also, I'm supposed to receive 2 ten minute paid breaks per shift, but they are routinely stolen from me, so in essence, I work 20 minutes per day for free!

I'm leaving my comment regarding Publix supermarket and taking care of their managers. I was a department manager for 25 years. I just retired with 35 years at Publix. I did retire with at least a million dollars in my retirement. Publix said they gave me that retirement, but I earned every dime of it. When I first started at Publix many years ago they cared about me as an associate. They don't care about anyone anymore you are just another associate too them, that's replaceable.I was a manager that truly love publix.I came in too work and gave publix 110 % everyday.When I retired I had over 995 hours of sick days that I never took. I loved my job until the last 10 years. I seemed to always be managing locations with no help. The other department managers that were their before I was had more full time help and labor hours. I felt that I was being taken advantage of ,because I didn't have enough associates too get all my job task done. I was a manager that always had too work late or work 12 hours a day. I stopped feeling good about my position so I retired. I felted that's what they wanted me too do .No publix does not take care of their managers or their associates . You have too be envovled in their buddy system. If the upper management likes you they take of you if not your on own.Too Bad Too Sad because PUBLIX use too be a great company too work for. Now your just an associate with a social security number. I still shop at Publix their are a lot of publix associates that know me.I get to hear from different associates weekly regarding how publix only wants to give them a 15 cent raise or a 25 cent raise: I think that's terrible because publix has some great associates that takes good care of their customers. It's sad what can you buy with 25 cents ???? Really!!!! Figure it out that's no raise. Yea well do they take care of their associates ????

I use to work for publix for over 20 years. They use to be a good company to work for but in the last past 5 years are so they have really started to expect to much out of one person. They try to work you to death. Mangers should have taken this law suit out long time ago.they need to go back to beIng the way they were. You can tell that the same people is NOT running Publix anymore.

All I got to Say is that I've worked for publix for a good while now. Most of it as a manager. I will be a millionaire while still in my early to mid 40s. Good luck in any job, college or no college, achieving that. Publix, with their awesome benefits, more than makes up for any short comings with their fww and/or long hours. If anyone works excessively long hours, it's only because they don't know how to manage their time and get out on time as scheduled

Shame on Publix paying a department manager anywhere from $60 to $80K a year and an assistant department Manager $40 to $45k a year. You all should be embarrassed coming on here crying about what you make and how you are/were paid. If anyone of you think that you can find a job making what you with the benefits you have with out a college degree then I'd suggest you take. If not then by thankful for what you havem