Twitter Reacts To Pizza Hut's Restriction On Employees Fleeing Irma

A Pizza Hut in Jacksonville, Florida, is facing backlash on social media after a manager at the outlet posted a note Friday threatening to punish workers, who attempted to evacuate more than 24 hours ahead of Hurricane Irma. The post went viral since and has sparked outrage on Twitter with people criticizing the brand for risking its employees’ lives.

In a note that has been circulating online since it was posted, a Florida outlet of the pizza chain outlined rules for employees, with regards to their work schedule plan, as the state prepared for the hurricane.

The one-page note addressed Pizza hut employees by saying that the company’s "#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 those expectations are met," before it went on to issue rather strict rules.

"If evacuating, you will have a 24-hour period before storm 'grace period' to not be scheduled," the note reads.

"You cannot evacuate Friday for a Tuesday storm event! Failure to show for these shifts, regardless of reason, will be considered a no call/no show and documentation will be issued," the note continued.

The note issued by Pizza Hut has been making rounds on social media and as a result, the chain may have lost more than a few customers. Many people on social media criticized the note saying it posed a restriction, which could endanger the safety of workers as people in Florida attempted to evacuate the area.

The note also appeared to urge the chain's employees to get ready for the hurricane immediately by "buying supplies." However, Twitter users were not convinced by any of Pizza Hut's comments in the note and the far-fetched message claiming that providing pizza to the community is considered more important than the safety of its employees.

The detailed guidelines in the note also specified that in the event of an evacuation, workers "must return within 72 hours."

Hurricane Irma is expected to hit Jacksonville, where this particular store is located, on Tuesday.

The city's Mayor Lenny Curry had ordered about 264,000 residents in some areas to evacuate even before Saturday, according to the New York Daily News.

Gov. Rick Scott also urged employers in Florida on Friday to "be compassionate with your employees as they prepare for this storm and evacuate," according to Snopes.

After the backlash of the last few days, a Pizza Hut spokesperson told the Business Insider that a manager at the Jacksonville location was responsible for the note, which was said to have violated the chain's guidelines. The spokesperson also specified that when the franchise group in charge of the location found out about the note, all employees at the location were contacted in order to make them understand the importance and to emphasize that their health and safety were the top priority for the company.

"We absolutely do not have a policy that dictates when team members can leave or return from a disaster, and the manager who posted this letter did not follow company guidelines," a Pizza Hut spokesperson said in a statement. "We can also confirm that the local franchise operator has addressed this situation with the manager involved."