A reader writes:

I work in an administrative role at a national restaurant chain.

I just got off of a conference call with corporate in which they told us that if the U.S. government sends us the proposed stimulus checks due to Covid 19, they plan to absorb the money we receive by cutting our hours to reflect that amount. In other words, if each person receives a check for $1,200, $1,200 will effectively go back to the company. Is this legal?

Presumably it will be a sacrifice shouldered by lower level corporate employees, since executives likely make too much money to qualify for the government checks. (My partner lost his job due to service industry layoffs, so money is a concern during this time.)

Legal as far as I can see (assuming you’re non-exempt*), but despicable.

They would be directly undoing what that money is intended to accomplish and they’d be commandeering your government assistance for themselves. It’s disgusting.

Let’s name and shame this company. I will keep you fully anonymous, but people need to know what national restaurant chain is proposing screwing over their workers this way — and it’s highly likely that letting the public see their plan would quickly kill it.

Everyone: I’ve been talking with a reporter who’s writing about employers doing awful things during coronavirus and she asked me to provide her contact info to anyone else whose employer is behaving badly in relation to the virus, if you’re willing to speak to her. (She wrote this excellent article about naming employers who weren’t allowing remote work when they could.) She is happy to keep you anonymous if you’d like. You can contact her here:

Polly Mosendz

pmosendz (at) bloomberg.net

phone number / Signal: 339-227-1657

Public shaming can work. Pushing back with a group of your coworkers can (sometimes) work.

We’re really seeing the worst of some employers right now.

* If you’re exempt, they can’t dock your pay based upon the number of hours you work in a given week. I’m assuming they’re talking about non-exempt workers here.