BREAKING NEWS – Jacksonville, Florida – Pizza Hut has threatened its evacuating Florida employees with disciplinary action. In a now-viral post on Twitter, a Pizza Hut team member shared a photo of a printout pinned to a cork board that advised Pizza Hut employees on hurricane “guidelines.”
The paper, addressed “To all Team members,” starts with expectations “as hurricane Irma approaches Florida,” stating “our #1 priority is the safety and security of our team. But, we also have a responsibility and commitment to our community to be there when they need us. With that said, I/we need some guidelines in place to ensure both of those expectations are met.”
The sheet continued with general rules – the store will close 6-12 hours before a storm – and that if a team member plans to evacuate, they must alert a manager and let them know when they plan to return, citing that a member is only allowed a “24-hour period before storm ‘grace period’” and must be back from an evacuation within 72 hours.
“You cannot evacuate Friday for a Tuesday storm event!” the paper read before reiterating that after the 24-hour grace period, team members are expected to work their assigned shifts.
“Failure to show for these shifts, regardless of reason, will be considered a no call/no show and documentation will be issued,” it read. “All employees can easily google the basics of how to build a raft when there is heavy flooding, unless they are strong swimmers. You are also encouraged to read the wind currents, so the 125 mph gusts can float you toward the Pizza Hut, rather than away from it. And finally, any dedicated employee that rows to their place of employment, will get an extra five minutes on their lunch break to recover from their minor exhaustion.”