'If your dog died, you need to bring him in and prove it to us': Olive Garden parts ways with manager over time off rules

JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. (WFLA) – A Kansas restaurant is parting ways with its manager after imposing strict rules to employees about taking time off.

In a message obtained by KCTV5, it showed an Olive Garden manager telling employees that if they needed to take time off, "[they] might as well go and look for another job."

The message shared with employees read, "Our call-offs are occurring at a staggering rate. From now on, if you call off, you might as well go out and look for another job. 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," the manager wrote.

The former manager told employees that they would lose their job if they called off more than once in 30 days since the message was sent.

The manager followed it up by sharing they hadn't missed one day of work in their 11 1/2 years at Olive Garden.

"Do you know in my 11.5 years at Darden how many days I called off? Zero. I came in sick. I got in a wreck literally on my way to work one time, airbags went off and my car was totaled, but you know what, I made it to work, ON TIME," they wrote.

After telling the employees that there were "no more excuses," a representative from Olive Garden confirmed that they parted ways with the manager, as the manager's message did not align with company values.

"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," the representative said.