Firing contest backfires on local biz owner
When this convenience store owner asked his workers to guess who the next cashier to be fired would be, did he actually think something positive would occur?
William Ernst, the owner of QC Mart convenience store, recently made national news because of a contest he created for his cashiers.
The contest, which Ernst explained in a chain email to QC Mart employees, encouraged workers to predict which cashier Ernst would fire next.
What did these lucky employees win if they guessed correct? Winners would earn $10 — $2.75 more than the federal hourly minimum wage — and the contest would then start up again.
Rather than motivating his workforce, Ernst’s contest caused a number of employees to quit — and file for unemployment.
Ernst tried to appeal, but an Iowa administrative law judge ruled in favor of the former QC Mart workers because the convenience store owner had created a “hostile work environment.”
The judge also called Ernst’s unorthodox motivational contest “egregious and deplorable.”
- Share on
Free Training & Resources
Webinars
Provided by Yooz
White Papers
Provided by Anaplan
Further Reading
Who’s an employee and who’s an independent contractor? When making that determination for wage and hour compliance, businesses may...
Employers are facing higher penalty amounts in 2025 for violations of several employment laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act (...
A California roofing and painting contractor will pay more than $320,000 after federal investigators found overtime violations tied to unre...
Target will pay $4.6 million to settle a wage claim that accused the company of failing to pay warehouse employees for time spent walking t...
Companies’ ability to restrict an exiting employee’s job opportunities is in danger. A federal rule is already in the works to ...
Mastercard, Inc. has agreed to pay $26 million to settle a pay discrimination lawsuit filed by female, Black and Hispanic employees. The...
