A New York waitress was recently fired for refusing to pay a nearly $100 tab when a group of customers pulled a dine-and-dash last week.
Suzanne Parratt, 31, had been working at the Midtown Manhattan Pig N Whistle restaurant since August. After three men in suits skipped out on the check, her manager allegedly threatened to have her coworkers cover the $96 tab if she didn't, Gawker reported via Gothamist.
Parratt was working a busy evening double shift on Tuesday when the dine-and-dash incident occurred.
"As soon as I realized, I went into full blown shock and then a state of panic knowing that I'd be held responsible for their $96 tab," Parratt told Gothamist.
Eugene Wilson, the restaurant manager, tried to coerce Parratt into covering the bill. when she wouldn't, she was fired.
"I believe he said this because it was relayed to him that I was not intending to pay the tab, and he wanted to guilt me into it or he'd make my coworkers pay for it," she said.
Parratt sounded off on Reddit and filed a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards, which responded with the statement "Your employer cannot make any deductions or require payment out of pocket for any losses or damages."
The response surprised Parratt, who had heard a different tune from her employer.
"It was repeatedly drilled into our minds that if a customer were to ever dash on a check, that the server is responsible for the tab," she told Gothamist, adding that the stipulation was "not uncommon in the restaurant industry."
Parratt confirmed her employment to Gothamist with a pay stub, but her manager denied that anyone had been recently fired and wouldn't take any followup calls from the outlet. She's looking into legal action against the restaurant and following up on leads from people who responded to her Reddit post, which received nearly 350 comments.
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
