Kicked out of work for wearing kilt

[David Thornton]

Lawyers, complain to the boss, please gentlemen we can give better council than that. You move forward in life and as a person by taking a higher road.

Simply go the the super and with hat in hand apologize, something like; sir, I must have misunderstood as I thought the kilt had been cleared. Can we take this up with (whom ever gave permission) so I can understand. I certainly did not intend to offend.

And if you can sell insurance, I have a job open. My clients and staff expect to see a kilt.

David

[Iain Robb]

He may have been an officer, but he is certainly no gentleman. Even if you were running around in a loin cloth there is no excuse for him to speak to you that way. I am surprised that you allowed him to do so.

Let's be careful not to chastise the victim here. I think most of us, confronted with hostility, are unable to come up with a good, clear course of action. And backing down is often a better response than escalating the situation.

If you like your job and you like wearing the kilt, now is the time to make your case to the upper manager. Otherwise, I'd say find another job.

[dfmacliam]

I feel appaulled with your supervisors actions, and feel he took the wrong course of actions in this matter. However, I think I know what has happened, I do not know, but it's a feeling I have.

As a military man, it is possible for him to react poorly because you might have bypassed his position as your immediate supervisor, and secured permission from his supervisor. While not a proper behavior in the civilian world (his not yours), he took the act and as forgiveness later with his boss. He was possible showing his dissastisfaction with the way you secured permission, I do not know. I do know how some tend to feel, especially carreer military minds in the mid level officer ranks... Trying to continue to live with a military mindset, while in a civilian enviroment. This is just a thought I have.

I find it hard to believe a college educated man, would actually be ignorent enough to refer to kilt wearing as being a tranny, or some "Irish" day events... while he tried to sound professional, it comes across as an immature reaction to something he feels sidesteps his "authority". Again, I do not know, it's only an opinion.

I am sorry you had to deal with this, especially knowing you how much you were looking forward to be kilted on a day that shows ones Scottish Pride. I hope you work through this situation, and be able to come to an understanding with this man. I will not advise on any actions you should take, but feel if you really think about what's going on, your heart will give you the right answer.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I'm not sure what your discrimination laws are like in Wisconsin, however I would find out. I would definitely talk to the supervisor above who gave permission, and if there is a way to file a formal complaint I'd do it.

Out of curiousity were you in a tshirt and your kilt, a dress shirt and your kilt, what level of formality were you going for? The reason I ask is that I've noticed if I wear a shirt and tie with a jacket and waistcoat etc. I get less hassles than if I were wearing a tshirt boots and scrunched down hose. It sounds like you would be out of luck with this micro manager nevertheless, and it should not make a difference, I was just wondering.

McMurdo brings up a good point. Every time I read a thread about someone being hasselled for wearing his kilt to work, I wonder if he was dressed like this:

(who is that handsome man?)

Or more like this...


(And I'm not implying that Scotcop was dressed one way or the other, I'm just saying that it would make a big difference to the employer).

[Tobus]

Wow - what a jerk! I would definitely go back to the manager who originally gave you permission and at least let him know what happened. Not out of spite, but as protection against the fact that this junior manager is now going to be gunning for you.

Having said that, I'm a bit surprised to hear so many people encouraging legal action. Guys, this is the USA. Private employers are certainly allowed to determine what's appropriate clothing. It's not "discrimination" that's protected by law.

[Good Egg]

Very difficult. Confronting your bosses at work can be counterproductive however wrong they are.

You could try sending him a written apology with a copy sent to the boss who gave you permission in the first place. Something along the lines of:

Dear Major Smith,

I am sorry that I embarrassed you, my co-workers and the company and have reflected badly on the professionalism of the job.

I am not a transvestite but of Scots/Irish heritage which I am proud of but never-the-less accept that it was not appropriate to wear my kilt at work.

I did discuss this with Mr XXXX and he said it was OK but I should have discussed it with you as my immediate superior.

You may rest assured that it will not happen again.

Your sincerely

Kilt wearing B'stard

If you are going to write such a letter you want it to appear naive rather than sarcastic.

If the owners have any gumption they are going to asking why you are apologizing for something that you should not be apologizing for and why on earth you are mentioning transvestites.

If you are going to go down this route you might want to post the letter on here so that others more divorced from the emotion of the case can just check that you've got the tone OK.

[McClef]

The guy's comments are totally unacceptable especially when he accuses kilt wearers of being "transies".

They should be reported to the superior who gave you permission in the first place.

[mull]

If managment fails to get you satisfaction, there is nothing wrong with having a few pipe bands worth of kilted protestors in front of the store.

[Coinneach]

I guess I'm a little confused...do you have a "uniform," as you quoted? I know we've had folks on here whose work places did, in fact, have a uniform, but managed to wear a kilt which was as closely matched to the company style as possible.

I would definitely thank the boss who gave you the permission, but explain how it was received by the supervisor and that, rather than argue about it, you changed from your kilt. Then ask about specific dress code policies or employee harassment policies. After all, it's certainly not your intention to embarrass the company in any way, but at the same time it sounds as though "the policy" can change from supervisor to supervisor.

[auld argonian]

From what you say, the fella must have thought that he was going to "do a little speech" there and demonstrate his "brilliant managerial skills". If he felt that it was unprofessional, that was all he needed to say. To go on about "Irish Day" and "transy" (it's "tranny", by the way) and make a scene...that's unprofessional. Obviously under the mistaken impression that he's Al Pacino and this is the end of Scent of a Woman or And Justice For All...time to make the grandstanding speech.

I'm sure that you'll take it up with the uber-boss and sort it out...things can usually be settled amicably when cooler heads prevail. Things like this seem to be settled best when both sides accept some of the blame (even if you really aren't responsible) and apologize to each other, agree on a future course of action and shake hands. Sounds like this fella needs an "out" from his untenable position so the suggestion that you apologize for not having given him advance notice coupled with your uber-boss telling him that he had given you permission might set the thing up so that he has some room to be conciliatory.

Good luck with this...sorry that you had to deal with such a small mind. Maybe it's because I live in a large city that's reasonably cosmopolitan that I never cease to be amazed (and dismayed) when I hear about things like this.

Best

AA