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Everyone wants to find a job with attractive benefits. Medical insurance can be frighteningly expensive, if your job does not provide it, and it’s great to know that you can still get paid during your annual January ski trip. However, when it comes to businesses that do not offer benefits and have less than ideal working conditions, they can have a hard time finding workers. Especially in 2022, when unions are on the rise and employees are feeling empowered to speak out about the downsides of their jobs, companies need to adapt to the increased standards of today, or they will be called out.

One restaurant in New Jersey recently came under fire after they posted a sign explaining their increased prices and advertising job openings. The sign was shared by the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United on TikTok, where the video has received 1.4 million views in the last month and sparked many conversations about the working conditions in the restaurant industry. Below, you can read the sign yourself, as well as some responses from viewers and an interview with a representative from ROC United, and see some of the other flyers business owners have angrily shared. Then if you’re interested in reading another Bored Panda article featuring employees speaking out about their treatment, check out this piece next.

A diner in New Jersey recently came under fire after a passive aggressive sign they posted went viral on TikTok

The video was shared by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, a non-profit dedicated to improving working conditions in the restaurant industry

Image credits: roc_united

@roc_united Where to even begin with this sign? #fyouiquit ♬ Comedy Loop ( Circus Circus) - Eliosmusic

Viewers have responded by calling out the business owners for their delusional sign

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Babsevs
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is such a strange thing to be normal practice. Pay your f*****k i n g wait staff USA!!!

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The Restaurant Opportunities Centers United is a non-profit organization in the United States that works to “improve restaurant workers’ lives by building worker power and uniting workers of various backgrounds around shared goals and values”. Their website explains their vision as a “society that treats restaurant workers with dignity and respect and an industry that prioritizes racial and gender equity and strives to increase the standard of living for all working-class people”. The restaurant industry is notorious for enabling toxic behavior in the workplace and sweeping abusive work environments under the rug, so ROC United works to “overcome the obstacles racism and sexism place in their way by helping them understand their rights and advocating for political representation through organizing, educating, training, and agitating”. 

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Mistiekim
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Signs, signs, everywhere are signs…….this sign was probably made as a joke since it is a lyric from the song Signs.

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We reached out to ROC United on TikTok to hear how common they think it is for restaurant owners to have mindsets like the owners of the diner in New Jersey. "It’s unfortunately very common for restaurant management and owners to scapegoat workers for their inability to find people who want to work for them," they told Bored Panda. "Restaurant workers are tired of making poverty wages and they’re tired of the mistreatment, and they’re taking the power back. They’re standing up for themselves and holding employers to a higher standard."

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We also asked ROC United if they could explain a bit how their non-profit helps bring an end to toxic work environments in the restaurant industry. "To date, ROC United is proud to have activated more than 500,000 low-wage restaurant workers, nearly 1,000 employer partners, and tens of thousands of consumer allies across 11 staffed chapter offices," they told us.

"Over the last 20 years, ROC has celebrated many victories, including: helped pass minimum wage increases and eliminate subminimum wages in more than 10 states and 20 cities, played an instrumental role in winning policy advances on paid sick days, wage theft, and eliminating the tipped minimum wage in more than 15 states and several cities nationwide, distributed more than $1 million to over 5,000 restaurant workers who lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic, won dozens of workplace justice campaigns against national food chains, including more than $230,000 settlement in unpaid back wages with the Bartmann Group in Minneapolis, secured a victory in ensuring tips belong to the employees who earned them, partnered with about 1,500 responsible employers to promote the “high road” to profitability, trained more than 10,000 low-wage workers to advance to higher-paying restaurant jobs through our CHOW Institute workforce development & training program."

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Torsten
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't get that they're still using paper checks via snailmail. That's ancient. In fact, electronic payment for salaries/wages was introduced in Germany in 1957.

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Lola Atkinson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

America isn't modern. It's not 1st world. It's set up to make the most money for people at the top. That will be your answer for any "Why America do dis?!" type questions.

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Laura Pantazis
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I disagree that this is illegal because the employee is receiving notice ahead of time that this is the policy. It would be illegal if it was retroactive without warning. Decreasing pay is not illegal provided that the employee has notice ahead of time. The way that the employee gets around it is to put in their notice on the first day of the new pay period. Additional source: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/cananemployerreduceanemployeepaytominimumwageduringa2weeknoticeperiod.aspx

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Mokayokok
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would quit w/no notice, take a pic of this sign, take a pic of my final paycheck wage, and a pic of an old paycheck stub for said company, go to a lawyer who would be willing to do pro bono & sue -- financially, it would definitely be worth it!

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Uno Ostres
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is illegal and called wage theft. Failing to pay OT for hourly workers, wage theft. Failing to pay hourly workers for required attendance at "meetings" ... wage theft.

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Janet Graham
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I doubt if that is legal. They are likely mailing checks in hopes that it will get lost in the mail. Or, they can claim that it did.

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Amy Semenov
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's not illegal at all as long as it's above minimum wage

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Brandie Litchfield
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This cannot be legal! I hope that anyone subjected to this insult takes their case to the attorney general in their state! Our country may be lagging in laws for employee protection on the job, but an employer can't stuff just change the rules and dictate that you will receive a lower wage!I hope someone sued!!!!

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survivalrhino
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not illegal, as long as paid at least the minimum wage. Ten per hr exceeds the minimum wage significantly. Dumb, but not illegal.

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Anna Banana
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What about the wage you signed up for? Don't you sign a contract saying how much you'll be earning? Surely they can't just retroactively change that for the hours already worked!

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Juan Ghote
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So the government handouts pay better than your hourly rate? Maybe if you offer a better rate you might get people to start at least.

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Lastly, we asked ROC United what they would recommend restaurant workers do when they encounter situations that make them uncomfortable at work. "If something makes you feel uncomfortable at work, it usually means something isn’t right. Trust your gut. Restaurant industry culture has a tendency to make you believe that you need to shoulder these issues on your own. Jot down everything you’re experiencing, including time and date stamps, and start researching your workplace rights. If you need assistance and want to learn more about your workplace rights and what you can do if your rights are violated, reach out to us!"

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Mistiekim
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So now we have Republican restaurants? They better raise the party flag so people don’t have to waste time parking and going up to the door.

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ROC United is making waves throughout the food service industry in the US by creating several innovative programs, including CHOW, or Colors Hospitality Opportunities for Workers. CHOW offers free, professional training of front and back-of-house skills to employees in seven US cities: New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Michigan, Oakland, and Los Angeles. The program focuses on providing opportunities to people of color, undocumented workers and women, so they have the skills they need to enter the restaurant industry set up for success. Participants are also educated on how to identify and address segregation and sexual harassment in the workplace, so they can protect themselves and others from abusive environments. 

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Jason Marin
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to work at a McDonald's and my meals were never discounted. Instead, I always got them free if I immediately started my shift after I was done eating.

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Warrior Mama
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, I bet most people are still living large on that $3600 and probably won't need to work for the rest of their lives! /s

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The sign in the original TikTok shared by a diner in New Jersey seems laughable at first glance, but it is only the tip of the iceberg of toxicity. It’s no wonder that their employees quit when management has a mindset like that. Thankfully, organizations like ROC United are working hard to change restaurant culture, and hopefully, working conditions will continue to improve for service industry workers everywhere. Let us know in the comments what you think about the sign in the video or if you have ever worked in a toxic restaurant. 

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Adagar
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Seems OK to me. I mean if we also make fun of jobs with crazy-high job requirements I'm OK with a business that's like "Please, just anyone, we need help washing dishes"

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Lost Panda
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The pandemic can't be blamed for everything, I expect you're short staffed because people are finally becoming empowered enough to stand up and say they are paid an absolutely disgusting excuse of a wage and their time and efforts are much better spent elsewhere

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Jacqueline Pie Francis
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why don’t they just say 7 am - 2pm…..because it would make them look like the unreasonable abusive jerkwads they are?

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Tamra
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Everyone is hiring and businesses are closing" because people are refusing to work for s**t wages! This isn't rocket science, people. If you can't afford to pay your workers a thriving wage, you shouldn't be in business.

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Raoul
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Reminds me of the „***Help Wanted*** Cooks and Servers“ letter. // ‚Can I copy your homework‘ - ‚Sure, just change a few things...‘

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