Olive Garden Employee Receives a $700 Tip. The Restaurant Fired Her The Next Day to Pocket The Tip: ‘Happy Late Mother’s Day’

Working in the food service industry is undeniably challenging. It’s grueling and oftentimes thankless work, so Brook Skyes from Fayetteville, Georgia, was over the moon when she received a $700 tip from a customer. What she didn’t expect is that her tip would lead to her being fired by Olive Garden.

Buni Williams, Skyes’ mother, took to Facebook to talk about the alleged incident. The frustrated mother posted the story on Facebook:

My daughter has worked at Olive Garden for over a year. Yesterday, she received a $700 tip on a $30 tab and was obviously excited. A manager told her that they could not pay it out yet and instructed her to write “0” on the tip line until it could be verified. She became upset because nobody told her how long that would take.

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), restaurants have a right to withhold tips. However, the management cannot withhold them indefinitely from the tipped employee. The payout is expected on the employee’s next payday, so it should be fairly simple for management to tell Skyes when she would be able to access her tip. What makes the case even stranger—rather, illegal—is that they required her to put $0 on the tip line. If Williams’ allegations stand, the Olive Garden branch may have been plotting to steal Skyes’ tip.

Olive Garden did the unthinkable

Williams continued with her story. Her post further alleged:

She asked her coworker to take the next table because she was visiblyemotional, and management told her she could either do her job or leave. She took the table and finished her shift. Later, they said they could give her 20% while the rest was reviewed. One manager said 1-2 days, and another said up to 120 days.

Again, management was being shifty about when they would release her money. Instead of giving her a definite answer, management had a spectacular surprise for Skyes the next day.

“This morning, when she arrived for work, they decided to part ways with her over her ‘behavior’ from yesterday,” Williams wrote on her post. According to the paperwork her daughter received, tips exceeding 20% are subject to “manager review.” The management told Skyes that her tip might take 120 days before it’s released to her. Skyes was upset, and in response, the Olive Garden management allegedly threatened to call the cops on her.

A labor case in the making

Skyes is a single mother to a child with autism. She worked for Olive Garden diligently for over a year, and the customer who tipped her was one of her regulars. And yet, Olive Garden seemingly fired her to pocket a measly sum.

“Happy Late Mother’s Day,” her customer wrote on the receipt. They added, “Here’s a little something to help you with your journey. Love & blessings.” It appears that the customer greatly appreciates Skyes’ service and decided to show her immense gratitude. What they didn’t expect was for management to withhold their gift from Skyes and supposedly terminate her for it.

Skyes later posted on Facebook, “Throughout my employment, I consistently showed up, did my best, and worked hard to support myself and my child. To make matters worse, I never received the tip-out compensation that I earned through my efforts.”

The post went viral on social media. Many commenters believe that Olive Garden will lose in the eyes of the law if the issue is brought to court. One commenter from TikTok wrote, “Imagine risking your business reputation for SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS.” Although Skyes is grateful for the support she’s receiving online, it’s unknown if she will be suing the restaurant chain.

(featured images: Yura Forrat, Harrison Keely, Andrea Piacquadio)

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