Fired Waitress Now Being Threated To Be Sued Over Sharing $10,000 Tip
If you’ve seen the news lately, a feel-good story about a stranger leaving a $10,000 tip at a local restaurant went from being a blessing to a curse for the woman who served him. Now, we have more information about how things got so ugly.
“I'm out of a job for the first time since I was 15"
This entire saga featuring Benton Harbor restaurant the Mason Jar Cafe and Linsey Huff, the waitress who is a divorced mother of two, has been an utter train wreck you can't look away from. I'll quickly summarize the situation, but if you want in-depth coverage you can read our previous article on the story here. After Huff received a $10,000 tip on a $32 meal, she shared it with the other wait staff as requested by the gentleman who left the tip.
However, she was mysteriously fired following the tip. The restaurant refused to go into detail about why she was fired when interviewed by the press, claiming that it was a "personal matter" unrelated to the tip. However, Huff wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post that employees became disgruntled after some weren't given a cut of the tip.
Both Parties Have Hired Lawyers
Both the restaurant and Huff have now lawyered up after the restaurant threatened to sue Huff if she didn't remove her Facebook post detailing her side of the events. Through her attorney, she shares the following: upon telling her managers that some of the staff were unhappy with how the tip was split, the Mason Jar managers asked for specific details on who was unhappy. Huff denied to name names, claiming she "didn't want to create a bigger issue."
Sadly, the opposite happened and she was informed she didn't need to come in to work anymore.
One week I’m such an amazing, hardworking employee, awesome mother … couldn’t have happened to a better person. Now, I’m without a job for the first time since I was 15 years old.”
The entire situation is very sad. I imagine the gentleman who left the tip never imagined his generous act would create such turmoil. Huff could have kept the tip for herself, but she unselfishly shared it with her coworkers, and she is being punished for it.
I end this with one final quote to show the stakes of this entry situation. Huff's attorney claimed the cafe threatened to "sue her for her full estate", to which she replied
"Well, good luck - I'm a waitress. There's not an estate here."
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