As the Fight for $15 minimum wage continues to rage, Target seems to be the hero. It was just a few short years ago when they stated they would raise their pay. By 2020, Target said all of their employees would be getting at least $15 per hour. Labor advocates cheered this victory as they continued to put on the pressure to get other companies to do the same.
As Target moves towards increasing wages, many employees aren’t happy. They say the move to start paying more isn’t benefiting like it should. To counter the loss of profit, hours are being cut. This is an expected move. Those who haven’t supported the Fight for $15 predicted that companies would be forced to cut hours to pay employees more money. That’s exactly what’s happening.
Now, Target workers are saying they’re getting paid more, but can’t afford healthcare or to pay their bills. They’ve noticed the number of hours they’re getting fall. Everyone, including department managers, have noticed hours being cut from their schedule. Also, getting paid more even puts you in a higher tax bracket.
“I got that dollar raise but I’m getting $200 less in my paycheck,” said one employee. She started the company working 40 hours per week, but has been cut to around 20 hours now that her pay is going up. “I have no idea how I’m going to pay rent or buy food.” This impacts many other aspects of their daily lives.
Target and Health Insurance
One of the more major concerns of employees is whether they can get health insurance. If hours are being cut, that puts many of them below the threshold. Target has a policy that doesn’t allow anyone who works less than 30 hours per week to qualify for health insurance. So, not only are hours being cut to afford the increased minimum wage, it’s forcing many to lose their benefits.
The company insurance has employees applying for coverage every spring. Several employees said Target started to give them good hours until about February last year. That was the time period in which their hours needed to qualify for insurance. Target instead deliberately cut their hours so they wouldn’t be able to get insurance.
“Target worked me hard from mid-July of 2018 to February 2019, right before my medical coverage was about to kick in,” said Caren Morales, a former Target employee in Diamond Bar, California. She says she was getting around 40 hours per week at that point. Right around the time she got a letter to sign up, it went downhill from there.
“They cut my hours right then, and so I begged for hours and always went above and beyond.” It wasn’t long before her hours barely scraped 15 per week. “I called in on May 1 and said, ‘I can’t come in today or ever again because I can’t afford my daughter’s daycare. You guys cut me really bad,'” Morales said.
