Staples threatens to fire employees who work more than 25 hours a week

[Achilles]

Staples threatens to fire employees who work more than 25 hours a week

Ashley Lutz
Feb. 9, 2015, 5:04 PM

StaplesWikimedia CommonsA Staples storefront.

Part-time Staples workers are furious that they could be fired for working more than 25 hours a week.

The company implemented the policy to avoid paying benefits under the Affordable Care Act, reports Sapna Maheshwari at Buzzfeed. The healthcare law mandates that workers with more than 30 hours a week receive healthcare.

If Staples doesn't offer benefits, it could be fined $3,000 in penalties per person.

Buzzfeed spoke with several Staples workers who revealed their hours have been drastically cut over the past year. Many reported working as few as 20 hours.

The workers started a petition on Change.org asking the company not to "cut part-time hours because of Obamacare."

"This new policy includes termination of GENERAL MANAGERS if employees ever go over 25 hours a week!" the petition reads. "This has lead to some bizarre stories of General Managers telling part-time employees to 'leave now or be fired' in the middle of transactions with customers."

The petition has 200,000 signatures.

Staples is cutting costs and closing stores as sales continue to slump.

The company just acquired Office Depot for $6.3 billion. Combined, the two retailers have 58,000 employees.

But it's likely that Staples will downsize its workforce as the companies merge.

In a statement to Business Insider, Staples denied the policy is a response to the Affordable Care Act.

"Staples’ policy regarding part-time associates weekly hours pre-dates the Affordable Care Act by many years. Some managers may have reiterated the existing policy to our associates as part of our ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of our stores. In fact, this policy has been in place for more than a decade."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/stapl...#ixzz3RLdOWfHJ

[Homesteader]

Our local Staples store downsized their floor space by almost half. It's never busy when you go in there. I often wonder how they can afford to pay rent.

[Texaslil]

Our local Staples store downsized their floor space by almost half. It's never busy when you go in there. I often wonder how they can afford to pay rent.

They can't!!! This country has gone nuts. No longer capitalists. When we came home after Vietnam we started a construction co. doing structural concrete with our last pay check of 150.00. For 39 years we never worked less than 70 hours a week and even at that there was never a day when we were out of the woods, but we managed to pay for a ranch and a house and raise four kids. Businesses have the wrong idea. It's you employees who make you your living.....or not. They can't do that if they don't work. We only took one vacation in all that time. Took our children to Mexico. what a mistake. We left a large job with a trusted foreman. When we returned we discovered he'd poured a bridge NINE INCHES TOO LOW. Last vacation we ever took. Thirty hours a week won't cut it for todays employees.

[LYCAN]

Staples is doing nothing wrong here.

Gov. backed them into a corner, they responded.

Employees don't like it, free to quit & seek another employer.

Simple.

[abvp]

Staples is doing nothing wrong here.

Gov. backed them into a corner, they responded.

Employees don't like it, free to quit & seek another employer.

Simple.

And all other employers are doing same thing.

[ractivist]

Staples is doing nothing wrong here.

Gov. backed them into a corner, they responded.

Employees don't like it, free to quit & seek another employer.

Simple.

It's a hard truth. Office supplies are available elsewhere.

It's the governments plan to destroy retail and manufacturing, it's not new, its just a backdoor way of doing it.

Some day people will realize it's tyranny. I do, and I bet most here do, but not all here understand this truth, for some reason. They are prime examples of normalcy bias, no matter the cause and effect we see everywhere today due to government regulations. They keep holding out hope, when none will be found from this fraudulent government.

How many times do you have to get slapped up side the head before you wake up. Amazes me.

[Green Man]

Office Depot IIRC, has just signed on with a deal to be bought out by Staples.

Don't you hate it when the employees get uppity?

[Lenno]

Office Depot IIRC, has just signed on with a deal to be bought out by Staples.

Don't you hate it when the employees get uppity?

You do realize that this is all the fault of ObolaCare don't you?

[Meemur]

I'm sick of this crap. I have to work three part-time jobs (the third one is less than 8 hours on weekends).

I want one, 40-hour a week job at ONE PLACE.

Apparently this is too much to ask in this economy.

I'm thankful to have these jobs but this schedule is getting old. I had to do this in my 20s. I didn't think I'd have to do it again in my 50s.

[captlid]

I'm thankful to have these jobs but this schedule is getting old. I had to do this in my 20s. I didn't think I'd have to do it again in my 50s.

The nice usher lady at our movie theater who's at least 60 does that. She works two days a week at the theater, two days a week at an office and runs her own business on the side. She's very happy with the arrangement.

There's nothing wrong with multiple jobs, its just hard to schedule them all not to conflict. Did the same in college. Worked retail 4 days a week on a partially flexible schedule and scheduled my other job for the other 3 days around classes..

I thought everyone in retail for the last fifteen years gets no more than 20 hours a week, except for the general manager.. That's how it was at Gap Inc way back when..

Sounds like a manager issue then, hire some more employees and schedule them within corporates guidelines. They didn't allow us to work over 32 hours a week except for holidays, cause if you worked at least 4 weeks in a row above those hours they had to convert you to fulltime with health benefits if you wanted..