Michigan server who got $10,000 tip says she was fired in ensuing dispute

A Michigan restaurant server who recently received a $10,000 tip on a $32 tab says the establishment has since fired her amid a dispute over how many of her co-workers deserved a share of the remarkably large gratuity.

The story of the tip that Linsey Huff earned while waiting on a table at the Mason Jar Cafe in the western Michigan community of Benton Harbor on 5 February initially went viral on corners of the internet dedicated to uplifting news because it had been left by a patron who wanted to pay tribute to a late friend.

But as an increasing number of Huff’s co-workers sought a cut of the gratuity, the tale devolved into her dismissal from the Mason Jar as well as threats from ownership to sue her because she discussed her firing on social media, her attorney Jennifer McManus told the Guardian on Monday.

McManus remarked that Huff’s ordeal illustrated the disparity of power between those in charge of the US food service industry and the rank-and-file workers they employ.

“The people with the money … control the narrative, and the people that work for them understand that and often have to cower because of that,” said McManus, who added that she was mainly representing Huff in case the cafe followed through on threats to sue her client for damages.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/20/michigan-server-10000-tip-firing

That last comment is disturbingly TRUE.