Olive Garden reportedly fired a manager who instituted a hardcore sick leave policy: 'If your dog died, you need to bring him in and prove it'

• Olive Garden has parted ways with a manager who told staff who called in sick to find another job.
• The manager told staff in a message they'd need to "prove if their dog had died", KCTV5 reported.
• An Olive Garden spokesperson said the message didn't align with the company's values.

Olive Garden has parted ways with a manager who told workers to prove they were sick if they didn't turn up for their shift, a report said.

In a letter seen by KCTV5, an Olive Garden manager in Johnson County, Kansas lambasted employees for taking time off and said that if they needed to do so, "you might as well go and look for another job."

The manager began the letter by saying that call-offs were occurring at a staggering rate, before giving staff an ultimatum.

"We are no longer tolerating ANY excuse for calling off. If you're sick, you need to come prove it to us. If your dog died, you need to bring him in and prove it to us. If its a "family emergency" and you can't say, too bad. Go work somewhere else," the letter reads, per KCTV5.

The manager said employees would lose their job if they called in sick more than once in the space of 30 days. The manager added that they hadn't missed one day of work in their 11 and a half years at Darden, which owns Olive Garden.

"Do you think I want to be here until midnight on Friday and Saturday? No. I'd much rather be at home with my husband and dog, going to the movies or seeing family. But I don't, I'm dedicated to being here. As should you. No more excuses or complaints," the manager added.

In a statement to KCTV5, an Olive Garden spokesperson confirmed that the restaurant chain had "parted ways" with the manager who wrote the letter.

"We strive to provide a caring and respectful work environment for our team members. This message is not aligned with our company's values," the spokesperson said.

Olive Garden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.