Complaint Review: GENERAL NUTRITION CENTER (GNC) MT VERNON IL

In 2006 I was working for GNC (General Nutrition Center) P/T while finishing college and trying to raise my son alone, was widowed at 21yrs old, we were staying with my mother at the time. I worked there for a year and during that time the manager of the store constantly lied to me, threw all her management responsibilities on myself and my coworker while she went shopping and goofed off most to the time and then got paid $60K to do so.  She was a piece of work, but was VERY good at lying to the customers and convincing them to buy things they did not need or that do not work, she had no conscience and is a sociopath, so her sales were tremendous, she is a crooked companies "dream employee!"  She refused to allow me more hours, yet hired another worker as well, so I mentioned looking for another part-time job to work around my job at GNC, so I could get my own place for my son and I.  This was several months before I left my job.  When I mentioned this to her and asked if it would be okay, since my other coworkers and most who work in retail were doing the same, she said "If you do, I will not be needing you after the reset".  In other words, threatening me that if I got a second job she would lay me off.

As I continued working there she would tell me to ask the other guys I worked with for extra hours, but then they told me she would go to them and tell them not to give them to me.  I caught her constantly stabbing in the back, as well as others.  She lies more than she tells the truth.  Then one time I called in thirty minutes before my shift as my alarm did not go off, following company procedures of calling my coworker first (he did not answer), then calling the manager (she answered but refused to go into her store to open it until I could get there, she and my coworker lived within a couple miles of the store, I lived 20 miles away in another town, claiming she had a hair appointment at JC Penneys that morning and was not missing it so the store would just have to open late (JC Penneys was located in the same mall just a few doors down from our store, very small mall, very slow mall also, lucky if we had five customers a day).
 
So, I then headed to work and called our district mgr to tell him what she said as I did not want to get in trouble for her lack of doing her job, she was the manager, I was a cashier.  I have been a retail manager and it is ALWAYS the managers job to go in if their employee is going to be late, that is why they make four times the wages of their employees.  The district mgr said it was "no big deal, just go on in". As well my worker had told me it was not the first time anyone had been late opening the store, he had and so had the store manager. So I did, but within two days time the store manager had typed up a resignation letter and was trying to get me to sign it. I told her I was not signing anything, but was quitting my job due to her constant lies, manipulations and lack of business morals or ethics, then I left.  I filed for unemployment and she lied and said she fired me for "gross misconduct" claiming I cost her all kinds of money by showing up 20 minutes late.  Calling in late one time is NOT gross misconduct and as I said we were lucky to get 5 customers a day at that store. This manager had told my coworkers, who told me, that she would never pay unemployement so we better not ever think of trying to get it as she knows someone at the State of Illinois.  She also had a book in her office my coworker showed me called "How to avoid paying unemployment". I believe she knew someone because they disallowed my unemployment based on her and the GNC corporate attorneys lies, they never even asked for proof of her claim.  Then when I appealed it, they did the same. This is typical business corruption, but our government officials are put in office to see through this kind of corporate criminal conduct, not allow it. 

Then within the last year I took a position with the federal governement who did a background check.  I listed this job, what I knew this lying manager and the corrupt company (GNC) would say, then also put that I was NOT fired for misconduct, as I was not..there was not misconduct and I quit due to this managers misconduct and lack of ethics. The government sent them a letter with 15 or more questions wanting to know who supposedly terminated me, how I was terminated (letter or in person), what I was terminated for or explanation of misconduct, any physical proof, write ups termination form, etc. and GNC corporate just kept putting them off, would not answer any of these questions, as there was no proof because it was all lies and I quit due to this manager and companies corruption. So, it would be obvious to any half way intelligent person that they did not provide any proof as they were lying, but instead the government forced me to resign claiming I had not told the truth on my application when all was listed, nothing was withheld and I answered honestly to what she would say and to the truth of what happened. As well the physical proof from myself and lack of any proof from this mgr and company was more backup to the truth.  These are the same people who are suppose to be keeping us all safe in this country, but they could not even see through the lies and corruption of this mgr and company or else they are just allowing this type of corruption to go on to save themselves from having to address and fix it out of laziness. There is absolutely NO HONESTY or ETHICS or MORALS in business or governement in this country.  People are so corrupt it makes me sick! God help them as they will never get into heaven, but all they care about is the here and now, ignorance!