Week 7 - French culture is rude and disrespectful?

Since we already have one non-US case, might as well have another.

Guillaume Rey, a French waiter living in British Columbia Canada, was fired for being aggressive, rude, and disrespectful, despite verbal and written warnings to stop the behavior.  He says his behavior wasn’t out of line – he’s just French. 

This is a waiter in France.  This is NOT Mr. Rey.  Also, this waiter does not appear to be rude and disrespectful.  You be the judge.

Mr. Rey filed a complaint in March 2018 with British Columbia's Human Rights Tribunal.  He alleges his firing was discrimination against his French culture, which "tends to be more direct and expressive."

His former employer attempted to have the complaint dismissed, but its request was denied.  “Mr Rey will have to explain what it is about his French heritage that would result in behavior that people misinterpret as a violation of workplace standards of acceptable conduct,” the tribunal wrote in its decision.

In another case before the same British Columbia tribunal, a Vancouver man who sent hundreds of abusive emails to his city council complained after his emails were eventually blocked.  Abusive messages, he said, were part of his identity as a “brash, loud and obnoxious gay male.”  The tribunal disagreed, stating that being gay “does not insulate him from the expectation that he treat people with basic courtesy and respect.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/26/french-waiter-says-firing-for-rudeness-is-discrimination-against-my-culture

https://qz.com/work/1238553/a-french-waiter-is-suing-for-discrimination-after-being-fired-for-rudeness/