One New Jersey woman was livid after a smoke shop offered her what she believes to be an unlivable wage: $9 an hour. In a viral video that has been viewed more than 40,000 times, user @highspeedfan took to TikTok to vent about it.
People in the comments agree that she should be outraged.
“Nobody wants to work anymore?” her rant begins, “Let me tell you, nobody wants to pay a good hourly wage anymore.”
@highspeedfan #jobsearch #jobtips #worklife #joblife #badday #customerservice #customerserviceproblems #annoyingjobs #jobhopper #quittingmyjob #rant #story #storytime #funny #relatable #comedy #viral #trending #fypシ ♬ original sound – Savannah Beneventi
Apparently, she texted a number on an ad for a job at a smoke shop to inquire about how much they pay. To her dismay, the employer responded and let her know that they pay less than minimum wage in her state.
“I was like, ‘Is this a joke?’” she says.
The employer tried to justify breaking the law (not paying the legal minimum wage) by explaining that she would be paid in cash.
“$9 an hour?” the TikToker asked. “What the [expletive] is that going to get me in this recession?”
“Honestly, I’ve been noticing that a lot of jobs pay so minimal but expect you to perform higher that your hourly wage,” the TikToker, whose name is Savannah Beneventi, told the Daily Dot via email. “This was the first job I’ve ever run into that offered me below my state’s hourly rate. Which is why I was so shocked and frustrated due to what’s currently going on in this country. I’ve since stopped my search for a job for now!”
Users in the comments section were also outraged by this employer’s wage offer.
“$9 is a jooooooke!” user @lovewclx0 wrote.
“That’s not legal,” another commented.
They are right. Though the federal minimum wage is still $7.25, the state of New Jersey (where this TikToker was looking for a job) is among more than 20 states that increased their minimum wage in 2023. On Jan. 1, the state’s minimum wage was increased to $14.13 per hour for most employees. By 2024, it is set to increase to $15.00.
@highspeedfan regularly posts about her experiences as a self-described “job hopper” to her 27,000 TikTok followers: Be it unreasonable asks at Dollar General, quiet-quitting Amazon, or leaving over a lack of a walkable Dunkin.
