‘If Your Dog Died…Prove It to Us': Olive Garden Manager Fired After Intense Crackdown on Call-Offs

The strongly-worded message sent to the employees at the Kansas Olive Garden appeared to show sweeping changes to the restaurant's sick leave policy

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A manager at an Olive Garden in Kansas has been fired after allegedly sending out a letter to employees detailing an aggressive new sick-leave policy.

The strongly-worded message sent to the employees at the Overland Park Olive Garden appeared to show sweeping changes to the restaurant's sick leave policy.

Part of the letter obtained by a local station reads:

"We are no longer tolerating ANY excuse for calling off. If you’re sick, you need to come prove it to us. If your dog died, you need to bring him in and prove it to us. If it's a 'family emergency' and you can’t say, too bad. Go work somewhere else."

The letter goes on to say that any employee that calls in sick more than once within the next 30 days will be terminated.

At the end of the letter, the manager said that they hoped all employees would continue to work there while thanking the employees who come in on time, saying, "I wish there were more like you."

In a statement to NBC 5, Darden Restaurants, the parent company of Olive Garden, confirmed the chain parted ways with the manager:

“We strive to provide a caring and respectful work environment for our team members. This message is not aligned with our company’s values. We can confirm we have parted ways with this manager.”

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