Unfair practices at work?

IS IT LEGAL FOR A MANAGER TO SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY, AND CUT MY HOURS JUST BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T LIKE ME, AND SPOKE HONESTLY DURING AN EMPLOYEE MEETING???

My company recently hired a new store manager since my previous manager was relocating. The new manager heard about the job through a friend and has a personal connection with the district manager. She was previously earning a high income in mortgage and running a sober living house. She has now been with us for about 2 months. There have been several inappropriate incidents during her firsts months, such as running her other 2 businesses on the side which caused her to be on the phone about every 15 minutes, she still does not know how to complete her simple duties without help or creating an error. Before she was hired my store had a very strong team and I get along with all my coworkers, I was promoted after two months of working there and really was enjoying my job. Now this new manager came in just as hobby while the mortgage market is low, and has been clashing with everyone. Ultimately a few weeks ago an incident occurred between the two of us that required a employee meeting including our district manager. During the meeting I basically explained everything that was going on that wasn't suppose to be going on. After the meeting I was under the impression that everyone was able to get everything out and start anew, but I guess that wasn't the case. After the meeting my manger gave me a hug and apologized. When I returned to work on a shift with her I had dropped all previous tension. I could still feel a tad of animosity from her, but wasn't really a concern. Now were a few weeks later, and I specifically mentioned to the manager that I had full availability during my spring break next week, and she decided just to give me my minimum hours. I decided not to say anything. Then she decided yesterday that she would do the schedules three weeks in advance in the back( this is also an issue we discussed at the meeting, that office hour work was to be done on mondays) and faxed and displayed them when she was done. Earlier that day she had been standoffish to me, but later started talking like everything was just dandy. So i decided this would be the best time to approach her about my decline in hours because I continue to work as hard as usual. I brought the schedule to her attention and she asked me if I wanted to know the truth, so i replied of course i do. She basically explained that she didn't like my attitude and felt I was bringing a negative vibe to the store. I was blindsided because she had been acting extra nice to my face these past weeks, and all of a sudden she turns a evil scorned switch, and basically tells me she cut my hours because she doesn't like me, and does not want to work with me, and is scheduling me around her schedule. Obviously she has no grounds to fire me because I'm one of the top performers. IS IT LEGAL FOR A MANAGER TO SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY, AND CUT MY HOURS JUST BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T LIKE ME, AND SPOKE HONESTLY DURING AN EMPLOYEE MEETING???Unfair practices at work?
Shane is right. The NLRA doesn't just cover protection for employees trying to unionize. It protects an employee whose conduct is in furtherance of addressing work conditions for the benefit of fellow employees.



A retaliation lawsuit can be expensive and generally you have to exhaust employer provided remedies first so you should file a complaint with HR.



Bdancer222's condescending answer has nothing to do with the legality of what your manager is doing and also only has value within the constraints of her own limited experience which may not even be applicable here. When I see words like ';district manager'; in this context, it leads me to believe that this is fairly large company with multiple offices and stores over multiple regions. Employers like these generally do not operate in a manner that is consistent with the picture she is painting. They do take retaliation very seriously, particularly if the manager is not considered to be a significant asset to the business. (In this case it sounds like she is a liability and, if the company were my client, I would advise them to put her on notice and build a case to terminate her for cause.)



Employers that do operate on that scale and allow management to run amok like that are extremely exposed in terms of labor liability (and pay law firms like mine LOTS of money, when it finally catches up with them, to minimize the damage and institute labor practices to protect them from further exposure).Unfair practices at work?
Your employers can do anything they want.

THIS IS WHY YOU NEED A UNION.
It's called retaliation. I would file another complaint against this former druggy/alki. Obviously if she's running a sober house that means she is nothing more than a former addict. If she is treating other workers like this I suggest you encourage them to file a complaint against her as well.
I'm sorry I just could not read all the way thru your post -- paragraphs are your friend.



Basically, you and the new boss don't get along. You foolishly went out of your way to make her look bad in front of her boss. Now this is even worse since you know that she has a personal connection to this district manager. You literally painted a great big bullseye right on your back.



If you like this job, you need to dial waaaay back on your attitude -- and there is not doubt that you are showing attitude. Just shut up and do our job. Don't worry about what the new boss is doing or not doing. It isn't your place. Don't discuss it with fellow employees. Don't even listen to employee gossip about her.



If she's as lax and careless at the job as you described, eventually it will catch up to her. But if you don't quit obsessing about it, you won't be there to see it. Because right now, she can blame you for all her failings.



By the way, this is a pretty normal situation out there in the real world. Getting saddled with a new boss that you don't like or is incompetent can be pretty normal. You have to learn to just do your job and get out of the firing range.
Talk to your boss... Let them know that you don't fell appreciated.. and they should understand.. you know there could be some miss communications.
sometimes you have to pick your battles , speaking the truth when it may be wise not to shows maturity, it is retaliation but it is not illegal, also be aware you can be fired for any reason such as your manager doesn't like you or no reason, it may be unfair but not illegal
bdancer2 is right. I'd just like to add:



The main and very important sentence here is: (she) ';...heard about the job through a friend and has a personal connection to the district manager.'; Uh oh.



Always be very, very careful what you say, and to whom. You really don't know who knows who, and/or who's calling who on weekends/before and after work/holidays/even on vacation. No more is it What You Know-it has turned into Who You Know.



Since you spoke up at your meeting, your manager now has decided to ';get back'; at you, re less hours.



She's ';scheduling you around her schedule?'; Doesn't sound promising. I'm not trying to sound faceious(sp) or fault you, but even though you may be a top performer-please remember: unless you're a union member, you can be let go or fired without notice.



Never get too complaicent on a job and think you ';can't be fired.'; Companies are firing/letting people go, some with 25+ years, from CEO's to Cleaning people and the same thing can go for your manager.



Good luck.