US waitress fired after receiving $10,000 tip and splitting it with her co-workers

Linsey Boyd was sacked from the Mason Jar Cafe in Michigan after sharing the $10,000 (€9,200), but the business has said their decision was “nothing to do with the tip”.

The restaurant has since been inundated with dozens of negative reviews as Boyd’s supporters criticised the cafe for letting her go.

“I was willing to share a $10,000 tip, but was reciprocated with hate and rumours,” Boyd wrote in a since-deleted Facebook post.

The alleged problems began with the seemingly positive event, when a middle-aged benefactor, who wanted to remain anonymous, made the generous donation.

The mystery man had just attended a friend’s funeral and wanted to honour his memory and brighten someone’s day, according to general manager Tim Sweeney, who spoke to the Detroit Free Press.

He requested that the tip be split among staff, which worked out to around $1,600 per person for the eight servers on the premises.

But “drama ensued” following the act of kindness, according to Boyd, who did not go into details on the nature of the problems.

Rumours have circulated that disagreements were sparked by employees who did not work on the day and expected to receive a cut of the donation.

“Drama ensued, and in an attempt to diffuse the situation and resolve any rumors, things became even worse,’ wrote Boyd as she shared her emotions on Facebook.

She said she then received a phone call on Tuesday to say she had been sacked.

“Finally... I got the call... I got the call, that I am fired... Now, I’m without a job for the first time since I was 15,” she said.

The call came after she was asked to take a mental health break for a couple of days.

“More people than I can count thought I should have just kept all the money and not shared. The thought hadn’t even occurred to me, but hindsight is always 20/20. Here we are a week later, and I’m out of a job.

“I was willing to share a $10,000 tip, but was reciprocated with hate and rumours. Because I was not willing to disclose a name that I heard the rumour through.

“This amazing act of kindness has brought out some serious ugliness, and I am taking the fall for it all,” she wrote.

Restaurant owners Able Martinez and Jayme Cousins said they could only share “limited” information on what led to the dismissal.

“This amazing act of kindness has brought out some serious ugliness, and I am taking the fall for it all”

Waitress Linsey Boyd

In a Facebook post, they said: “A claim has been made about a recent employee of ours. We cannot comment on the nature of her losing her job due to labour laws and to protect the staff involved.

“However, I will say it had nothing to do with the tip. She did receive the entire tip, she did not pay taxes on it (the business did). Yes, she shared the tip at the request of the man that left it.

“We do truly care about our staff. We’ve had the same crew for five to six years. We have college girls that come home every summer and have been for four years now, we take our staff up north at the end of every summer season, we give donations for college funds for them, we kept them employed through Covid, we do everything in our power not to lose staff.

“We hope it is clear this was not a decision made lightly or hastily.”