After news that an employee was fired for refusing to work on Thanksgiving made national headlines, Pizza Hut announced Wednesday night that the Indiana man was offered back his job.
“We fully respect an employee’s right to not work on a holiday, which is why the vast majority of Pizza Huts in America are closed on Thanksgiving,” Pizza Hut posted on its Facebook page. “As a result, we strongly recommended that the local franchisee reinstate the store manager and they have agreed. We look forward to them welcoming Tony back to the team.”
It is not known as of late Wednesday if Tony Rohr planned to accept the offer.
Rohr was the manager of the Elkhart, Ind., restaurant when he at a work meeting after being told the eatery would be open for the holiday, WSBT Channel 22 reported.
“I said, ‘Why can’t we be the company that stands up and says we care about our employees and they can have the day off?’” Rohr told the news station.
Rohr, who had worked at Pizza Hut more than 10 years, then told his bosses he wouldn’t open his restaurant on the holiday. He was then asked to sign a letter of resignation, but he declined, according to the report.
Instead, Rohr wrote a letter to the company explaining his position, he told WSBT. The letter stated: “I am not quitting. I do not resign, however I accept that the refusal to comply with this greedy, immoral request means the end of my tenure with this company.”
A director of operations for Pizza Hut locations in Indiana and Illinois told the station that opening on Thanksgiving was a company decision, rather than an individual one. The director, whose name was not included in WSBT’s report, said the company’s decision to open for the holiday is in line with other national restaurants and stores.