Pizza Hut manager threatened to punish workers evacuating for Irma

Authored by abc7chicago.com and submitted by katieames
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A Pizza Hut manager in Florida threatened to punish employees who missed shifts by evacuating too early for Hurricane Irma.In a memo, the manager said workers at the Jacksonville restaurant have a "responsibility and commitment" to the community, and that employees who needed to evacuate would get only a 24-hour "grace period" before the storm."You cannot evacuate Friday for a Tuesday storm event!" the notice read. "Failure to show for these shifts, regardless of reason, will be considered a no call / no show and documentation will be issued."It also said that employees would be required to return to the city within 72 hours of an evacuation.Pizza Hut said its "local franchise operator has addressed this situation with the manager involved.""We absolutely do not have a policy that dictates when team members can leave or return from a disaster, and the manager who posted this letter did not follow company guidelines," the company said in a statement.The company added that all stores in Irma's path had been shuttered and wouldn't reopen "until local authorities deem the area safe."Pizza Hut declined to say whether the manager involved has been disciplined.Jacksonville authorities issued the first evacuation orders for parts of the city on Friday. On Monday, the sheriff's office tweeted to people in evacuation zones: "Get out NOW." Up to 4 feet of water covered some streets.FEMA is advising people in the storm's path to "only return home when local officials say it's ok."The Pizza Hut notice spurred resentment on social media.

sumfacilispuella on September 12nd, 2017 at 03:49 UTC »

i worked at dominos and i asked off for my dads 60th bday about 3 months ahead of time. a week before, a hurricane formed, and it started heading our way. once it was obviously going to hit us, our boss said that none of us could ask for off that day and that anyone who didnt come in would be fired. i was planning on going to my dad's at that point not just for his bday but because its 2 hours farther inland. i reminded him that i'd asked off months in advance and he has agreed, and he said if i didnt come in i would be fired. the hurricane was pretty bad, and when i got to work that night, no other delivery drivers were there. he said that we couldnt deliver because there was a curfew and no one was supposed to be driving around. i was so fucking pissed i just walked out as he called for me to come back and work inside. these places literally wouldnt give a single fuck if you died as long as the pizza is still on time.

KopOut on September 12nd, 2017 at 02:20 UTC »

Hopefully Pizza Hut corporate will thoroughly hate this publicity and do something about it.

SmokeAbeer on September 12nd, 2017 at 01:24 UTC »

My manager gave me the same bullshit. He said, and I quote, "get your ass in here! We're in Fucking Oregon!"