Minnesota ice cream parlor worker is fired for accepting $100 tip from customer because they 'could have dementia or illness that makes it hard to understand their actions'

An employee at a Minnesota ice cream shop was fired for receiving a generous tip from a customer that 'could be' dealing with dementia.

Emily Swenson was working a shift at the Moorhead Freez when a customer came in and tried to leave her a $100 tip.

After Emily insisted that the tip was too generous and that she could not accept it, the customer put the bill in the tip jar and drove away.

Days later, on April 24, Emily received a written warning from her boss. Her parents, Seth and Lisa Swenson, uploaded the 'employee warning notice form' on their joint Facebook post. 

It read: 'Emily needs to understand that some of our customers are elderly and could be dealing with dementia or other illnesses that make it hard for them to understand their actions. No one in their right frame of mind tips $100 at a place where every menu item is under $12.'

An employee at a Minnesota ice cream shop was fired for receiving a generous tip from a customer that 'could be' dealing with dementia

Emily Swenson received a written warning from her boss after the tip was left. Her parents, Seth and Lisa Swenson (pictured), uploaded the 'employee warning notice form' on their joint Facebook post

The parents explained in their Facebook post that Emily was working her fifth season at the ice cream shop - and revealed that her boss had accused her of 'taking' the $100 from a customer. 

The written warning went on to say, 'As an employee of The Freez, it is your responsibility to protect the reputation of the establishment. If the customer is dealing with issues and the family finds out that she was allowed to put $100 in the tip jar, The Freez will be looked down on as a place that takes advantage of the elderly.'

Emily was fired the next day, according to her parents. 

The Freez terminated her on the basis that she violated the company's policy which states that employee's should not accept bills over $20 as a form of payment - although the policy does not mention anything about tips. 

The ice cream shop released their own statement on Facebook after receiving harsh backlash following the Swensen's post. 

'Ice cream makes people happy. Social media bullying - not so much,' the Freez wrote.

The Freez terminated her on the basis that she violated the company's policy which states that employee's should not accept bills over $20 as a form of payment - although the policy does not mention anything about tips

The written warning went on to say, 'As an employee of The Freez, it is your responsibility to protect the reputation of the establishment'

'Ice cream makes people happy. Social media bullying - not so much,' the Freez wrote in their own statement 

'We did not terminate the adult at will employee of five years for not accepting a tip. There's more to the story.

'We won't go into details, it's a personal matter. However, we believes that if the parents are posting for an adult child - they haven't asked the right questions of their adult daughter,' the Freez continued. 

Members of the public rushed to the comments to share their reactions to the controversial termination.

'So perhaps the owner should check to see if that customer was an elderly one with dementia before firing her employee,' Atlanta Swensen wrote. 

'Perhaps she was someone who really appreciated Emily and her coworkers who do a good job. I doubt any other food establishment would fire someone for saying they couldn’t accept the tip and then the person put it in the tip jar anyway!'

Another user said, 'I’m trying to wrap my head around this situation. How is it Emily’s fault if the lady dropped the money in the tip jar after Emily refused to take it? It sounds to me like the manager/owner was looking for fault in employees.'

'Dementia or not this is an insane response to the situation,' a user wrote.

'I’m just sad, for everyone. I’m sad that it even happened. But really the comments do need to stop,' one user said in reaction to the harsh backlash. 

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Moorhead Freez as well as Seth and Lisa Swenson for comment.