Politician Praises Server For Going to Work Sick And Ruins Restaurant’s Life

Conservative U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel tried to shout out a brewery in Perrysburg, Ohio, and may have ended up sinking the business. Mandel tweeted about a server at Inside the Five who he met while eating there on Friday who apparently told him she was feeling sick—but she came in anyway, WTOL 11 reports, because the restaurant was short-staffed. Mandel is running for a seat held by Rob Portman, who’s retiring, and this is the most press he seems to have gotten yet.

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“Even though Brianne was sick today, she came to work because she knew they were short servers,” he wrote. “These are the type of American workers that make our country strong.”

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PERRYSBURG, OH — @InsideTheFive is a cool brewery started by two NFL vets. Great food and spirited waitresses!

Even though Brianne was sick today, she came to work because she knew they were short servers.

These are the type of American workers that make our country strong. pic.twitter.com/o0VFkDkjuo

— Josh Mandel (@JoshMandelOhio) August 20, 2021

The brewery has been coping with the fallout from this tweet ever since, and Mandel has not deleted it. He has even started criticizing the restaurant, which has responded to the uproar by saying they sent Brianne home and told her not to come back until she got a COVID test.

Hey @InsideTheFive, instead of giving into the woke mob, how bout having your employee’s back and giving her a raise.

While so many people are getting paid to sit home and do nothing, Brianne muscled through feeling under the weather and came to WORK. https://t.co/KodnrOiHMZ

— Josh Mandel (@JoshMandelOhio) August 21, 2021

They issued a statement to WTOL 11:

“This is so disappointing. Last week we sent a message to our staff saying that they should report any symptoms, big or small, to a manager, and not come to work. And no one should just assume it’s allergies or a cold. Although our server’s intentions were good, it was not the right decision and it will be addressed. Yes, we are short-staffed, but would close our doors before we put anyone at risk. The employee has since been sent home.”

They claim that there is not a policy at both their locations that servers have to wear masks. Reporter Tyler Buchanan tweeted that the brewery had to delete their Twitter account:

In the aftermath of Mandel tweeting this,

– The worker got sent home
– The brewery deleted its Twitter account
– The business received loads of bad attention/press & has had to do damage control
– Mandel has since trashed the business multiple times

Never seen anything like it https://t.co/PhUFoyMfPC

— Tyler Buchanan (@Tylerjoelb) August 21, 2021

You can see some of the responses they must have been getting by looking through Mandel’s replies. Lots of people are angry at the idea that anyone would come into work sick, but lots of people who have worked in the restaurant industry explained this has always been the norm. Few people who work in restaurants have paid sick days, and even in pandemic times, they’re often understaffed and people have to show up anyway. They just don’t usually advertise it:

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I owned restaurants. If you would have knowingly come to work sick and not let us know, you would have been sent home immediately & faced discipline, including termination. No decent restaurant/bar would let a sick person work. I’d pay someone to stay home & get better.

— Chad McCoury (@ChadMcCoury) August 21, 2021

It was actually very responsible to advertise this over the internet so ppl know not to go to this restaurant ever. They don’t believe in hygiene.

— travelblues (@blueammon) August 20, 2021

If you have ever been to any restaurant in the US, you have been to a business when the employees come to work sick. I guarantee it.

— Meredith Jones (@murda981) August 21, 2021

And, Brianne, if you read this, your employer doesn’t care about you. This isn’t going to get you extra points. I know the job market is tough rn rn, but you deserve better than an employer that asks you to come in, rather than saying, Go home, we’ll handle it.

— Margaret ‘Done w Tony’s ’ Stortenbecker (@TheWordN3rd) August 20, 2021

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Do you realize how irresponsible that is?

“Hey, let’s go to a restaurant, get some good food and play Russian Roulette with death! A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL,!!!!!”

— Nancy60 (@Nancy6098103556) August 21, 2021

They do offer paid sick days & this server was sent home. But okay.

— Shania (@hxcshania) August 21, 2021

Brianne did not know what she was getting into when she talked to that man.

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*First Published: August 22, 2021, 3:43 am