Waitress fired after receiving $10,000 tip

A Michigan waitress who received a hefty US$10,000 (C$13,500) tip was fired days later, but the restaurant said her firing had nothing to do with the generous tip and was a “purely commercial decision”.

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Mason Jar Cafe in Benton Harbor, southern Michigan, fired waitress Lynsey Boyd a week after an anonymous customer left her an already-famous $32.43 bill, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, asked Lynsey Boyd to share the money with the entire service staff, amounting to a little more than US$1,100 (C$1,480) per employee.

His firing was “unrelated to a tip. She received the entire tip and did not pay taxes on it (the company did). Yes, she shared the tip at the request of the person who left it,” owners Able Martinez and Jaime Cousins ​​wrote on Facebook.

Problems followed

But problems arose within days of her receiving the money, Boyd said.

For example, media reported that management asked him to take Sunday off for mental health reasons.

Ms Boyd said management contacted her on Sunday evening and asked her to take the next day off.

The waitress left a message to the restaurant on Monday asking if the phone call was actually an eviction notice.

She was fired by phone the following Tuesday, WSBT-TV reported.

“One week I was a great, hardworking employee, a great mom… It couldn't have happened to a better person. Now I'm unemployed, the first time I've been in 15 years,” a concerned major wrote on Facebook.

“unscientific”

Restaurant management rejected Ms Boyd's claims, saying the shooting had nothing to do with the tip or the aftermath, but said they also could not be detailed due to legal work.

“I know a lot of people say we let her go because of a tip, but that doesn't make sense,” Mr. Cousins ​​told WOOD-TV, which said employees who worked for him. Many years, and he does not let anyone go “for no reason”.

Mr Cousins ​​said the decision was not taken lightly and that firing an employee was something the restaurant was working to avoid.

“In this case, it was a purely professional decision,” he said.