Remember on the first few Jolene episodes, Mel's nickname for her was Temporary.

Did Mel ever make her a full time waitress or was that angle just kinda quietly dropped?

I think it was just quietly dropped lol, Originally she was only supposed to work $40 worth of work, just enough to pay off the plates she broke. $40 work of work would NOT have been long at all! I have no idea what min wage was in the 70s, but even if it was just $5 an hour, she would have made $40 in just ONE day's worth of work, if she worked 8 hours.

I think it was just quietly dropped lol, Originally she was only supposed to work $40 worth of work, just enough to pay off the plates she broke. $40 work of work would NOT have been long at all! I have no idea what min wage was in the 70s, but even if it was just $5 an hour, she would have made $40 in just ONE day's worth of work, if she worked 8 hours.

I think it was $2.13/hr + tips

Dolly Parton made it lucrative for Mel so that he would never promote Jolene. Payback for always taking her man! :D