overreactions

The Sanitation Department Does Not Take Kindly to Tips

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 05: Sanitation workers thrrow out debris from a flood damaged home in Oakwood Beach in Staten Island on February 5, 2013 in New York City. In a program proposed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York state could spend up to $400 million to buy out home owners whose properties were destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. The $50.5 billion disaster relief package, which was passed by Congress last month, would be used to fund the program. If the program is adopted, homeowners would be relocated and their land would be left as a natural barrier to help absorb future floods waters. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Photo: Spencer Platt/2013 Getty Images

In case you were wondering whether you should tip your garbage collector, the case of two sanitation workers who left their jobs after accepting tips of $5 each suggests the answer is a resounding no. The two Sanitation Department veterans quit rather than face further discipline after they were fined $2,000 each for accepting the tips after collecting a particularly big load of trash. The men apparently earned more than $100,000 each in 2011, so it’s not like they depended on tips. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Sanitation Dept. Doesn’t Take Kindly to Tips