Weckerly’s worker wasn’t paid for ‘tryout’ shift. After she posted on Facebook, the manager was fired.

Just months after a change in ownership, Fishtown ice cream shop Weckerly’s is at the center of an employment dispute involving a manager who denied pay to a new employee.

Katie Myers worked at Weckerly’s for two days when she decided she didn’t want to continue in the job. When she reached out to the store’s manager about getting paid for the two shifts, Myers was told she had never actually been hired, and those shifts were a “tryout” and “another chance” respectively.

Myers posted about her experience in a neighborhood Facebook group on Sunday night, drawing numerous comments.

Weckerly’s owner Cristina Torres posted a letter in response on Facebook Monday morning, apologizing for Myers’ experience.

In a statement to The Inquirer, Torres said that the manager who refused to pay Myers has been terminated and that Myers has since been compensated. Myers confirmed that she received a digital payment from Torres and that the shop owner paid her more than double what she was owed for the time.

The manager had started at Weckerly’s earlier this year and was just recently promoted to the manager role, Torres said.

“Personally, I am absolutely mortified by this incident,” Torres said. “Fairly compensating people for their work is a fundamental belief of mine, and I am fully committed to making amends and preventing similar situations in the future.”

Unpaid “stage” shifts and internships have been common in the restaurant industry, but recent years have brought more scrutiny to unpaid work that benefits a business. Some employment lawyers have instead suggested hiring candidates for a probationary period, partnering with trade schools or simply paying candidates for time spent on a test of their skills, according to HR Dive, an industry publication for human resources professionals.

Myers said she shared her experience in hopes that it keeps others from going through a similar situation.

Torres said she takes responsibility for the manager’s “mistake.”

“I’m deeply regretful for everything that has transpired, but we are focused on learning and growing from this experience so that we can continue to serve the members of our great city and the Fishtown community,” she said.

Myers, 23, previously worked at a Cracker Barrel. She had never come across the concept of working an unpaid trial shift in her previous food-service work.

She applied to Weckerly’s after seeing a post on Facebook that the ice cream shop was hiring, offering $13 per hour plus tips. During her first shift, April 22, she mostly made waffle cones. The next day she scooped ice cream.

But Myers said she felt uncomfortable with the way the manager was talking to her and other employees. So she told the manager she would not be coming back.

Myers quickly found a new job at another Fishtown restaurant. She texted the manager on Sunday to ask about getting paid.

“I told you it was a tryout on Monday,” the manager responded, according to screenshots shared with The Inquirer. “You could have left anytime. I never hired you.”

Torres said she is “deeply sorry” for Myers’ experience. “Ice cream is meant to bring joy and happiness, and we are dedicated to making things right,” she said.

The past half-year has been one of transition for Weckerly’s.

Former owners Jen and Andy Satinsky announced in October that they would be closing the shop after 11 years in business.

Just when the community was expecting them to shut their doors in December, they announced that Torres had bought the business, and it would reopen in January. The Satinskys stayed on for two months to help with the transition.