Just last week, UT’s campus bookstore released 30 employees, some of whom were unaware that they were, in fact, only temporary employees.

Instead, they thought they would be given part-time hours through the remainder of the semester.

But as soon as the rush ended, the work schedule was empty and so were the wallets of the former employees, including Amanda Carey.

Carey said the first indication she had that she was no longer a bookstore employee was “when [she] went into work and … wasn’t on the schedule anymore.”

In fact, Carey was never formally notified that she was going to be let go.

Similarly, Kirsten Campbell said she had no indication that she would be fired at the end of the rush.

For the first two weeks of the semester, she worked everyday except Tuesdays and Fridays, and she was ecstatic at having found a job on campus.

“I needed a job, and I didn’t want to spend money on gas,” she said.

Campbell checked her work schedule and saw that she only had three hours on Wednesday.

She spoke with Cheryl Riley, the assistant bookstore manager, and was told to come back on Saturday to look at the schedule.

When she arrived on Saturday, she walked toward the office and saw the managers speaking.

According to Campbell, she overheard one of the mangers say, “Oh, they’re here.”

Shortly thereafter, she discovered that she was no longer an employee of the campus bookstore.

Bookstore Manager Mike Comiskey stated that every employee they hired for the spring rush was notified that they would be fired at the end of the rush, adding that the store hopes that the released employees will re-apply at the end of the semester to work again during the end of semester rush.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t help former employee Jamey Smith, who worked for a week and a half before he was let go.

“I was upset that they never told me,” he said. “I was counting on the income.”