Mike
The end of a shift can bring a mix of relief and anticipation for many workers, but when the cash register comes up short, it can be a cause for concern. The practice of requiring workers to cover their own tills if they come up short has been a longstanding debate in the workplace.
Recently, one mom shared a now viral Tiktok stating that she got a suspicious call from her son who was at work.
“So after work today, I am going up to my son’s job because last night he called me, he asked me to bring him his wallet and I’m like, “Well, why you need your wallet? You’ve already been at work all day,” and he’s like, “Oh, well, my drawer came up short, so they said I have to pay it back.” So now I’m wondering, like, is that really a thing at fast-food restaurants? Because he works at a McDonald’s franchise?”
“And don’t get me wrong, if he messed up the drawer, he needs to, you know, be disciplined at work, you know, he needs to be written up or whatever their process is. But I don’t think the process is making a 17-year-old pay back money that’s short from a drawer. Like, do you think he stole the money?”
“Like, what’s going on here? So y’all let me know if y’all ever worked for a fast food restaurant or something like that if the drawer comes up short, do you have to pay it back? Like, is that a thing? Or like, what happens in that situation? He’s been working there for about a year and a half now. And I asked him, had that ever happened before? He said it happened one time before, but it was only like $5.”
“First of all, my son is very smart and he’s a whiz at math, so I don’t know what the hell happened, how his drawer came up short $32. But yeah, is it? Are they supposed to make him pay it back? Because he acts like he had to pay it back. Like he said, my husband said when he got there to pick him up from his shift that the other kids in there was helping him come up with the money to pay it back because he didn’t have his wallet. And so my husband just gave him the money to pay it back. But I think that’s very strange.”
“My husband is like, “Oh, well, I know your son was in there probably playing around and not paying attention, and he f**ked up that drawer.” And so I understand that. But isn’t it up to the manager to talk to him, to, you know, give him a warning or something, but to make him pay it back? Like, is that what businesses do? I’ve never worked at a fast-food restaurant, so I don’t know, but is that how it goes? Because I am going up there after work to see if that’s really how it goes. Because I don’t know. I just find that strange.”
@lovebyrd82 What happens when your drawer comes up short as a cashier. #we no
She later posted an update after contacting the U.S. Department of Labor.
@lovebyrd82 Replying to @june The Department of Labor says that they are not permitted to ask for payment back OR deduct itndrom his paycheck.
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