PROVO, Utah – Employees at a restaurant in Provo braved the chill to camp outside of their place of employment in the hope of getting time off for the holidays.
Olive Garden employees told FOX 13 News they call the second Sunday in October “Black Sunday” as it is the first day employees can request holiday time off.
Employees said the restaurant grants time-off requests for the holidays on a first-come, first-serve basis, so some dedicated employees camp out overnight to be first in line when management arrives.
“It’d be nice if it was based on, like, seniority: people who have been here longer can request off first, but they’ve been pretty strict with having this system,” said one employee among those waiting.
“There could probably be a smoother system to figure out without having to stay up till 5 a.m., but we figure we might as well make the best of a bad situation,” another employee said.
Employees who spoke with FOX 13 News said there are at least 60 servers who are trying to get time off, and there are at least 25 positions to be filled for each holiday.
