deli
A close-up of an employee making a sandwich in a supermarket deli.

Meanwhile in Florida: Controversial Deli Hiring Sign Claims Minimum Wage is For Mediocre People (Funny, We Were Thinking the Same Thing About Deli Sandwiches)

If the internet is to be believed, hiring managers can be a little tone-deaf. On the one hand, we get it: good help is hard to find. On the other hand, maybe you’re an asshole and that’s why no one wants to work for you. We offer up in example a superior at a Jason’s Deli location in Melbourne, Florida. Whoever this person was, they wrote up an incredibly offensive sign that breaks down what kind of people deserve certain wages.

Photo: @haitiandvorce (Twitter)

At the bottom of the hierarchy, it read, “Min Wage = Mediocre Person.” (Florida’s current minimum wage is $8.65 an hour.) It then went in increments from $9 to $15+ per hour, listing the characteristics of employees at each wage. For example, a $12/hour worker is “Better than most. Brings zero drama. Works like 2 people.” At $14/hour, an employee is “never ever late, cares like the owner does, brings positivity to the environment.”

The sign was posted on social media and immediately drew criticism.

“This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing. Someone took a great deal of time and care to write out this travesty. Bet they were laughing to themselves the whole time, too. Shows how they really think of their employees,” one Facebook user wrote.

“Why is ‘works like 2 people’ not 18/hr?” a Redditor inquired.

Word got back to the corporate offices of Jason’s Deli, which contacted the manager, who promptly removed the sign.

“The manager of our Melbourne, FL location recently posted a sign intended to attract prospective applications through the potential for upward movement through our Career Path,” Jason’s Deli president and COO Ragan Edgerly said in a statement on Facebook. “The sign communicated that message in an inappropriate manner that does not accurately reflect the hiring practices of Jason’s Deli.”

We don’t fault anyone for making minimum wage, and definitely wouldn’t dub them mediocre – in fact, isn’t the business mediocre if all it can pay its employees is $8.65 an hour? That’s lame compensation if you ask us. Regardless, we hope corporate told that heartless person in charge that they can take their substandard wages and shove them – and their deli sandwiches – where the sun don’t shine.

Cover Photo: Fertnig (Getty Images)

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