Home > Tales from the Front
Petsmart Champaign unfair to minor employees
Posted on 04/25/2006 by Brand New
Viewed: 862 times
PetSmart unfair to minor employees - Treatment of Employees
Posted By: brand new on 4/11/2006
Location: Champaign, IL
My 16 year old daughter was hired by Champaign Illinois PetSmart in the grooming department. The second day she was handling and partially grooming dogs (Big and Small) on her own.
She was bitten by a dog that had been marked down in the records as a biter. She should not have been handling the dog by herself. She did not receive any training and she had only worked there a couple of days. She worked any hours they scheduled her for , arrived early and stayed late when asked. She never had one complaint from a customer about her care of the animals. She worked one day 8 hours without a lunch and she was by herself because the other employee went home. She has worked 7 to 10 hour days eveyday she was scheduled to work. 4.10.06 she lifted a big dog and popped something in her back. She told me about it when I took her in lunch. I told her she should tell a supervisor. She was scheduled to work until 7:00. At 5:00 she called and told my sister she had been fired. When I went to pick her up the manager Mark told me that she had been fired because mystery shoppers called and went into the store and my daughter did not identify herself and that she did not establish eye contact , they said that she did not seem interested in the dogs. The employee was identified as a blond between 21-25. There is another person there that fits that description and she does not smile. I know this because I have heard people comment on it. My daughter has a very nice personality and the other female manager even said that she was a sweet girl. All of this dedication and giving 100% happened in about a 2 week period. I asked the Mark the manager why he did not talk to her and ask her if there was a problem. He said that he does not have the time and that he felt that she was not a "fit" but she was a "fit" when she was working by herself without a lunch break and when she was working a 10 hour shift.
 comments (8) |  digg |  del.icio.us |  e-mail it
avid reader(04/25/2006)
Yeah! Don't spam the site!
 tawanda(04/25/2006)
You mention your daughter hurt her back and you encouraged her to report it the day she was let go. Not knowing any more of the details, that sounds retaliatory to me. Check your state's worker's comp laws to make certain of this, but in my state, verbally notifying the supervisor that the accident took place constitutes notice of the injury. They can not dismiss her because she got hurt.
tawanda(04/25/2006)
Next point: Your daughter is 16 and they have her working how many hours in a day??? Child labor laws should apply here - both state and federal (federal is the minimum, states can do better). Visit www.dol.gov for information and guidance. You local State Department of Labor should be able to assist you and they will be responsible for seeking injuntive relief for your daughter and any other minors employed at that store.
tawanda(04/25/2006)
Did they give your daughter a handbook explaining all of their policies and procedures? Are there posters on display in "Employee only" areas of the store that described Worker's Comp, Overtime laws, and so on?
Let Daughter Grow Up(04/27/2006)
Personally, it's probably a good thing she was let go. You did not mention whether or not she has any training in pet grooming. My dog is groomed every Thursday by a licensed groomer. Why is PetSmart allowing 16 year old kids to groom dogs? It's unfortunate, but our society is very litigous these days. Your daughter could have been at the end of an unhappy consumer lawsuit. PetSmart has no business allowing kids to groom animals.
I won't take either of my dogs there. Thanks for the heads up!!
Oh, and I do agree with the poster who mentioned about PetSmart being retaliatory for your daughter's back injury. You might want to look into that as well.
Good luck to you and your daughter.
 the confessor(04/30/2006)
This is a legal strategy. Contact a lawyer, and get advice. The company sounds like it is in a very compromising position. Go get 'em!
Ann(05/09/2006)
Sounds like you need a good lawyer.
POST A COMMENT»
JobSchmobber Community Comments
|
|
just me (04/25/2006)
You posted this already! We know!
|
|
|
 |
What You're Talkin' About:Read the Most Recent Jibber Jabber from the JobSchmobber Community
|
Story Comments:
Blog Comments:
|
|
|
POST A COMMENT
