Pizza Hut Manager Fired for Refusing to Open on Thanksgiving Gets Job Back

After more than 10 years on the job, a manager at an Indiana Pizza Hut and working-class-hero Tony Rohr, lost his job for refusing to open his store on Thanksgiving. Rohr worked at a store owned by a franchisee, who rehired him after the corporation strongly encouraged them to do so.

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 local CBS affiliate WSTB. Thanksgiving and Christmas are the only two days that they’re closed in the whole year, and they’re the only two days that those people are guaranteed to have off and spend it with their families.

The franchise owners didn’t like Rohr’s defiant tone. They told him he could either open the store or write his letter of resignation. He refused, instead writing a letter of protest explaining why he wouldn’t voluntarily resign or comply with an order to open his store on Thanksgiving.

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. I hope you realize that it’s the people at the bottom of the totem pole that make your life possible.

The corporation distanced itself from the franchise owners after Rohr’s story went viral, saying the situation “could and should have been avoided,” adding “We fully respect an employee’s right to not work on a holiday.” Rohr’s story, was picked up by national news outlets after a local news station ran a piece featuring him, prompting Pizza Hut to issue this statement on Thanksgiving morning:

As follow up to the situation in Elkhart, IN, we feel strongly that the situation involving our independent franchisee and the local store manager could and should have been avoided. 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. 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.