A barista shares her experience working for an independent cafe in California after she quit her job at Starbucks in a viral video. Less than two weeks later, she says she regrets the decision.
TikTok user @redm3at first went viral Sept. 9 after sharing a video of her celebrating her resignation from Starbucks.
“Pov i quit Starbucks and now I’m a barista for an independent cafe with better pay, no dress code, that serves [alcohol] and hookah at night,” the overlay text in the original video reads. “Best part of all, i’ll never make another mocha cookie crumble again.”
@redm3at #stitch with @redm3at sooooooo update 💀 #barista ♬ original sound – RED
The creator’s triumph was short-lived, however, once she realized that maybe her new job was a bit too lax in comparison to the giant coffee chain. The TikToker stitched her quitting video on Sept. 20, citing a list of labor laws the new cafe had allegedly broken.
“My first red flag should have been that they never took any paperwork from me,” she says in the clip. “I never signed a W-2, I didn’t clock in, I didn’t clock out. I have yet to be paid for a single 8-hour shift.”
She adds that she wasn’t given her legally mandated 30-minute lunch break and two 10-minute breaks for that shift, per California’s labor laws. Instead, she was given a mere 15-minute break for the entire eight hours.
“The owner was constantly watching me through the security cameras,” she continues. “And he would text me to stand up if I ever sat down.”
The creator’s job update video has been viewed over 64,000 times as of Sunday. In the comments section, viewers urged her to file a complaint with the Department of Labor while others shared similar experiences working for local cafes.
“Small businesses are either great to work for or they violate every labour law out there,” a viewer wrote.
“I was boutta say every coffee shop I’ve worked for were independent & they were AWFUL,” a second shared.
“Welcome to independently owned coffee shops where there are no breaks and the pay is dogshit,” a third commented.
One viewer urged the creator to leave the job behind, claiming that it is not worth the violation of labor laws. “Please quit babes,” they commented.
The creator replied, “I’m gone already.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via Instagram direct message for this story.
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Source: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/independent-cafe-breaking-labor-laws/