AutoZone Delayed Pay, Illegal(?) Hours Decatur, Illinois

I'm a little wary of writing this at all, since anyone with the internet can view it, which includes the people I work for. I hope this doesn't end up with me being treated worse at work. I need some feedback though.

I was hired at AutoZone at the end of November, if I remember correctly. The trouble started right then. I had to drive 45 minutes away to Springfield for training at 8am. It sucks, but I can deal with that. Especially for a new job. After training I went home and assumed my store would contact me, but after two days I decided it would be smart to call. I did, and was told I was supposed to be at work at the time of the call. I went in on my next scheduled day. I wasn't able to use a cash register for a few days because I was given no password to log onto the computers. So basically my job consisted of asking people if they needed help, then telling them that I couldn't help them. That sucked too, but I can deal with that as well.

My manager let me use his password from then which was fine. It turns out the reason why I had no password was because my application process was never even finished. My W-9 form was never filed for some reason.

While at work my manager gave me some support number to call and try to figure out why. I tried that a couple days. My manager had me run home on my lunch break on two days to check my email for a message from AutoZone Human Resources. Both days there was nothing. After calling the support line at work again I left a message with my home number on it and I finally ended up finishing my paperwork.

While I was calling the support line those times, my manager said that if I did not get my W-9 finished by Thursday, I wouldn't get paid until two weeks later on the next payday. Too bad it was too late for me to get paid. Previous to this, my manager told me that he wasn't even supposed to let me work but did anyway. He didn't tell me not to tell anyone, but he did say "I could get into trouble if you told anyone." I didn't tell anyone or complain because I can be very lenient about any inconveniences against myself if the favor is returned at least a little.

Now, the past couple days, one of the "gray shirt" employees (he's a step above me, a "red shirt") has been clocking out for me. I have no idea when, but I do know he has had me empty trash in the parking lot after he clocked me out at least once. That sucks also, but I didn't mind. The guy (Shane) is a decent person to work with so I let it slide.

Then, last night, I was supposed to work until 9:30pm, but I ended up staying a little past midnight because he told me we couldn't leave until we were finished organizing some of the store for advertised deals. At first I didn't mind. Then hours were passing and I did start to mind. Who knows when he clocked me out. I was supposed to work today at 7:45am, but by the time I got home, did laundry, ate "dinner" and went to bed, I would have gotten about five hours of sleep. On top of that I am getting sick, so I just decided to call in. The store opens at 8 but the work starts at 7:45.

While sick and extremely tired, I had to go return a rented car to save my dad a $100 fee. By the time I got back it was about 8:10. I called the store and told my manager what was going on. He told me I should have called an hour before my shift started. As far as I know no one is even there.

I'm unsure of the law in Illinois, since I just moved, but in Nevada, where I'm from, it is illegal to require an employee to return to work until 8 hours have passed. I understand jobs are hard to find right now, so I feel bad to even whine.

This is getting out of hand, though, and I don't need to work this much just for rent while I start college. Also when I was hired we agreed on 15 hours a week. I've been working about 40 and still only getting P/T benefits. I noticed another person reporting this for AutoZone.