Hall of Shame: 10 Terrible Workplaces (Plus How Not to Suck)

We talk a lot about what to do when you’re running a business–things like accurate worker classification, paying employees properly, and generally just doing right by your workers. What we don’t always address is what not to do.

10 terrible workplace violations and the lessons we can all learn from them

1. A lesson from Packers Sanitation: There’s no place for having kids cleaning dangerous equipment.
2. A lesson learned from Miami: If you don’t have the resources to ensure workplace safety, you have no business having a business.
3. Lesson learned from this Virginia Home Care Provider: Overtime pay is not optional.
4. Lesson learned from the saw mill: If OSHA tells you to fix something, just do it.
5. Lesson learned from Dollar General: Repeat violations cost more than a dollar, in general.
6. Lesson learned from this North Carolina home care operation: Misclassifying workers to “save money” turns out to be expensive!
7. Lesson learned from Baltimore: Shortchanging your people on their retirement will end up costing you more than chump change.
8. Lesson learned from Georgia: Suspend operations if your suspension operations aren’t safe.
9. Lesson from Delaware: Retaliation against whistleblowers will come back to haunt you.
10. And finally, three lessons learned from thousands of greasy pennies: Pay your employees up front, don’t call your employees weenies, and if you’re gonna pay them in greasy pennies, at least own it. You just end up looking worse when you say you “don’t really remember” your petty behavior.

The Bottom Line

It’s in your power to be a good employer. If you don’t have the in-house resources (i.e. a dedicated department that specializes in these matters) to ensure you’re in compliance with overtime rules, worker classification guidelines, and benefits eligibility, you can ensure you stay in good standing by engaging a partner! Contact us to chat about what solutions we can provide for your business.