I’m a residential service plumber in Myrtle Beach. Boss had a company meeting (which I secretly recorded because I heard rumors he’d be announcing some shady changes). In the meeting he announced that he’d be trimming the fat. He said instead of getting paid from when we clock in, we now will get paid starting the moment the truck leaves the shop. This means unloading/loading the truck, getting gas at the onsite shop pump, getting material from the warehouse, or anything done at the shop in the morning is unpaid time.

Management caught wind that I recorded the meeting, fired me. South Carolina is a single-party consent state (what I did was legal).

I’ve never been fired before and it’s kinda messing with me. I’m wondering if I was right in doing what I did, and if my outrage at expecting to work for free is justified. He basically said if you’re loyal to the company you’d be willing to do this for free, and extra stuff like wash the truck at home and organize it on your own time.

Would the DOL be interested in my recording? Would them firing me be considered retaliation? I have him on recording clearly stating “You will not get paid for time at the shop. You will only be paid from the time the GPS on your truck leaves the shop and is heading to the first job.”

submitted by /u/Decibel_1199
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