I worked for this company for approximately 9 months. New employees have a 30-shift probationary period after which there is a review. I took as many shifts as I could, excited to reach my 30 shift review. When my manager informed me it was time to schedule this review, I asked how the meeting was to be compensated. I was informed that this review, as well as all employee-manager meetings, are uncompensated. In the employee handbook, annual reviews were stated to be an essential part of our job, which I interpreted as mandatory. When I asked them to clarify (in writing) whether employees were expected to attend mandatory meetings without pay (and CC'ed HR on that email), they immediately backtracked and said these meetings were NOT mandatory, just that I would not be eligible for a raise unless I participated. Which still feels like it should be illegal. After this I lost all respect for them as a company. I am not willing to do ANY amount of work off the clock, including a 30 minute meeting. I have never worked for any company that expected me to do unpaid work-related meetings. How hard did they have to work to find these loopholes in the labor laws? No amount of scheduling flexibility, for me, is worth violating the very basic principle of being paid fairly for my time.
