Can you applaud an employee's work ethic when that employee doesn't want to stop working to run to the bathroom and take a pee break?
Health officials have temporarily shut down a Pizza Hut in southern West Virginia after a surveillance video showed the restaurant's district manager urinating in a kitchen sink. USA Today reported that Mingo County health department ordered the fast-food restaurant in Kermit, about 85 miles southwest of Charleston, to shut down.
Pizza Hut Corp. has officially released a statement, admitting that they are "embarrassed" by the district manager's actions and stating that the company has a "zero tolerance" policy for individuals who violate its company's operating standards.
"First of all, we are embarrassed by the actions of this individual," Pizza Hut said in a statement. "Pizza Hut has zero tolerance for violations of our operating standards, and the local owner of the restaurant took immediate action and terminated the employee involved."
Adding: "While the isolated incident occurred during non-business hours and did not involve any food tampering, we follow strict safety and handling procedures and the restaurant has since been closed. We apologize to our customers of Kermit, West Virginia and those in our system who have been let down by this situation."
The employee, whose name was not released, has been fired by Pizza Hut.
In the 35-second video the man is seen working on the computer, then calmly walking over to a deep sink in the kitchen, unzipping his jeans and relieving himself. After he has finished, he zips up and then runs the faucet for just a few seconds, without washing his hands.
The video ends with the former manager returning to his computer, which is opposite the sink. The sink in question has reportedly been used in the back kitchen to wash the utensils and dishes at the eatery.
Pizza Hut stated that the incident occurred after business hours and the that the restaurant will remain closed until it has been "thoroughly cleaned and there are reassurances of safeguards in place," the Associated Press reported.
A sign on the restaurant's front door reads "conditions within the establishment constituting a substantial hazard to the public health."
