Complaint Review: Jimmy John's - Denver Colorado

I too work for a Jimmy John's location which is owned by Brendon Killian.  In my time there I have come across several concerns that more than likely violate state law.  The job itself is fine as are most of the people that work at this location.  The practices employed to operate the business are some of the most concerning practices that I have seen in a work place.

1. There is a "tip" jar that is located up near the register.  People periodically put money in the "tip" jar as you would expect.  The money is collected at the end of the night and what happens to it next is unclear.  I have never received a dime from this tip jar even though I work for those tips.  I have been informed by 2-3 different people that the money from this tip jar is collected and given to the manager/assistant manager in the form of a check, filling the role of a bonus.

2. During any given shift, no breaks are allowed.  No 30 minute unpaid lunch breaks for more than 5 hour shifts.  No 10 min paid breaks.  Nothing.  If you ask to get something to eat during a 6.5 hour shift, you will simply be told 'no, no breaks'.

3. Nearly all, if not every employee, has been charged for their uniform.  Having looked up the information on Colorado Wage and Labor Board I now recognize that an employer cannot charge an employee for their uniform if it is required to wear for work.  The charge for uniforms is $25 and it is deducted from your paycheck.

4. There is at least one employee that I am aware of that is not even receiving minimum wage as their hourly rate of pay, they are paid $7.25/hour.  The rest of the employees are paid $7.36/hour and bust their a*s for every penny.

5.  There is a closing manager that closes down the computers before the employees have the chance to clock out at the end of the night.  And then the manager will go in and edit the time sheet.  The problem is, inaccurate times are entered on the time sheet that employees do not have access to.  So, if the store closes at 3:00am and the manager shuts down the computer at 3:45am but the employees don't leave until 4:30am, employees will be clocked out at 3:30am and not paid for the extra hour of work.  No record of actual hours worked is made available to the employees. 
This has happened numerous times, it has been reported to the General Manager, and nothing has been done about it.  There was even an incident where overtime should have been included in the pay (due to a shift longer than 12 hours) and no overpay was possible, or so I was informed.

6. All of the paychecks that I have received seem short on hours.  Not having access to the stores time sheets I cannot guarantee that this is a true statement.  However, consistently I have looked at my paycheck and thought, 'that doesn't look right.'  The best that I can figure, the scheduled double shifts (10 hours in theory) which actually take 11 to 11.5 hours are recorded as 10 hours.  Which means we have not been paid for closing.  I am not the only employee that this has happened to, there are many.

7.  I am unclear of the laws concerned with use of a personal vehicle for business use but again something does not seem right with the practices employed at Jimmy John's.  No mileage is paid.  No gas reimbursement.  DMR is seldom applied to time worked--I have only seen it applied once or twice and the amount was $1.00 and then $2.50.  In a 10 hour shift we can cover 50 miles.

Overall, Brendon Killian is not a good guy.  When he is in the store he yells at employees and treats nearly everyone disrespectfully.  I have to question how and/or why the general manager appears to condone the practices listed above.  Apparently this troglodyte, Brendon Killian, has failed to realize that in order to run a successful business, you have to take care of your employees.  The only reason that people work for this guy, myself included, is because there are bills and responsibilities to be taken care of.  In truth, working for Brendon Killian borders on being an act of desperation.