Days Inn Fires Employee for Giving Interview About the Minimum Wage Her Boss Suggested

The hotel chain Days Inn fired a minimum wage employee for an interview the employee did at the manager's urging.

The Washington Post reports that Shanna Tippen was fired from her job as a maid at a Days Inn in Pine Bluff, Ark. The interview Tippen gave was about the recent 25-cent increase in the Arkansas' minimum wage. That money would not have been enough to pull Tippen out of poverty, but it would have helped make life a bit easier. Now, she has no job at all and is relying on a tax refund which will soon run out.

Herry Patel, the hotel manager, is the person who fired Tippen, even though it was his idea that Tippen talk to The Washington Post reporter in the first place. Tippen says that firing her was not enough for Patel, who also verbally abused her and cursed at her. Tippen had worked at the hotel for the last two years.

Tippen says she has been unable to find work, but is not discouraged and will take any work that comes her way. Tippen also contends that she did not want to put Patel or Days Inn in the spotlight. She says she didn't have a choice however, because she desperately needs work.

The minimum wage is a hot button political issue, and a national movement to have it increased has seen protests at fast food restaurants and Wal Marts throughout the country. The movement has had some success, as illustrated by the minimum wage increase in Arkansas. Major cities like Seattle and Chicago have also seen increases in their minimum wage.