In a detailed 4:35-minute TikTok video, user Alex (@princessdumbitch) narrates her disheartening experience with Spirit Halloween, claiming the company shorted her on multiple paychecks and refused to pay her for hours worked. The video, which has amassed over 97,500 views, highlights the struggles and frustrations of a first-time store manager left to navigate her role with inadequate support and alleged wage discrepancies.
Alex starts her story by expressing her initial excitement and subsequent disillusionment: “I’ve been biting my tongue on my experience at Spirit Halloween since it started in September of this year.” She reveals this was her first year working for Spirit Halloween, stepping into a managerial position without prior experience. The district manager’s promise of training and support fell short as Alex recounts, “I show up for my first day, she’s not there. I don’t see her until two weeks after I started.”
The video delves deeper into the complexities and challenges she faced, including learning payroll, scheduling, and hiring independently. The situation worsened toward the season’s end when promised additional wages for working up to Halloween and participating in store teardown were allegedly not fully paid. Alex breaks down the numbers: “Since I was the store manager, I didn’t have a choice to not shop for my shifts. So I should have gotten 40+ hours with this three dollar added wage on top of my regular wage, which was roughly $22.”
Upon reaching out to her regional manager about the missing wages in mid-December, she was allegedly met with dismissal and the claim that it was “too late” to address any discrepancies, leaving her short of approximately $300. She asserts, “Spirit Halloween shorted me out of $300 that I worked for and is basically refusing to pay me.”
“Girl, you need to lawyer up,” said one commenter. “They have to pay you, and now they owe you more.” “Go straight to the Department of Labor,” said another commenter, a recommendation several others gave. “That is a huge violation.”
Whether it’s a “huge violation” would be up to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, should Alex choose to submit a complaint—which would be the course of action, should she choose. The department has a how-to website on what information is required.
One employee claims the company’s behavior is somewhat normalized: “Pfft, I’ve worked at Spirit Halloween for three years, and there’s always something sketchy going on. They never do the right thing [or] help people.”
@princessdumbitch Disclaimer I am usually very good with checking my paystubs & making sure everything is correct but like I said I was expecting this added wage to be its own paycheck in December and was planning on verifying everything when I got it #spirithalloween #spirithalloween2023 #spirithalloweenemployee #underpaid #spiritemployee #wagetheft #missingpaycheck #unpaidwage #unpaidwork #unjustpay ♬ original sound – Alex
Unfortunately, Alex’s wage theft claims against Spirit Halloween are not singular. There are several anecdotes over the last few months alleging similar treatment.
Alex’s story is a striking example of workers’ challenges and potential injustices, particularly in temporary or seasonal employment. Her candid account highlights the need for accountability, adequate training, and fair compensation in all work environments. As she concludes, “And I just thought people should know,” it’s evident that she intends to raise awareness and caution others about her experience.
The Daily Dot has contacted to Spirit Halloween via email, and also to Alex (@princessdumbitch) via a TikTok comment for further comments on her wage theft claim.
