Kicked out of work for wearing kilt

[ronstew]

Count me as *** for the 'apology' route.

I'd take it a step further however... I would write the apology letter to your direct supervisor and CC it to the boss whose permission you DID get. It would read the same as the letter by COURTMOUNT outlined above, with 1 small addition.

"In the future, I would ask that any discussions on my behavior / attire be dealt with in a professional manner, instead of berating me in front of my peers and the store's customers. Such circumstances are best dealt with in private as it's unprofessional to accuse someone of being a 'tranny' in public."

I would apologise to him for your alledged 'unprofessionalism', as well as call him out for HIS unprofessional behavior.

No. This is not an apology - it is a beratement disguised as an apology.

Either apologize, or don't.

[Nighthawk]

No. This is not an apology - it is a beratement disguised as an apology.

Either apologize, or don't.

Yeah, I'm with you. Screw the apology. If you do something wrong, then yes, an apology is in order. In this case- I say that instead of apologizing, Scotcop should be demanding an apology. And as the offense was a public one, the apology should also be a public one.

[Alan H]

A Uniform? At a bookstore?

I suppose it depends on the bookstore.

Look, it's a minimum wage job at a bookstore. Just how much grief do you need to put up with for a minimum wage job?

[Bugbear]

The super's boss picked out the ensemble!?

This is too weird.

[Bludongle]

Okay okay okay.... enough already.

"It's just a minimum wage job..." blah blah blah .... has to stop.

I understand that you all don't mean to belittle the man but its A job.

And one he takes pride in and does very well from all accounts. the fact that it is a Christian bookstore that he works in tends to make me think that he has a bit of a spiritual connection to the community in which he works.

And in this economy those things aren't easily replaced by working down at the Quickie Mart.

Talk to your supervisor and explain what happened and simply say that you felt she needed to know what occurred before some witnessing customer comes in and talks about it.

Best on ya.

[Regnifne]

ScotCop, we are obviously all behind you on this . . .

I'm taking a stab in the dark and doing a little research of my own:

Yes, I agree that if your manager PICKED OUT YOUR ENSEMBLE and GAVE YOU PERMISSION that the first course of action should have been to ask the **** manager, I mean, shiFt manager, if he had spoken with her since she gave you permission. Unfortunately for him, shift managing a bookstore does not instill the same level of authority that a battalion commander or even a platoon commander does and certainly is less than a store manager. THis is less about the kilt and more about unsat managerial behavior. Sorry, but "follow your last order first" doesn't apply here, especially when a higher authority gave you permission.

Otherwise, straight to the store manager to say something like, "Thanks for letting me wear my kilt. Unfortunately my shift manager (I remembered the F that time) prevented me from doing so" and go from there.

In my research on harassment (which I think this can be, precisely for reasons mentioned regarding your "national origin" and "gender") I found this on a certain Christian Bookstore's website:

Ber∑@ñ Christian Stores is an equal opportunity employer and affords equal opportunity to all applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other status protected under local, state or federal laws.

Keep us posted! and I do so love the idea of a pipe band putting on an impromptu concert in front of the store . . . Just randomly parading by . . . how coincidental!

[Lyle1]

Nobody and I mean NOBODY speaks to me in that manner. HIS job would be in jepoardy.

I agree. I personally don't think that wearing or not wearing a kilt the real problem or issue, and I would not address the kilt when approaching management. The real problem to address is the manner in which the immediate supervisor spoke to the employee, including the specific words that were used. This guy is a major jerk (pun intended) who obviously has not transitioned well from the military to the civilian sector. Management needs to be aware that this guy has a problem before he treats a customer the in the same manner.

[Nighthawk]

Alright, heard back from my HR friend. This is what she had to say:

"The transvestite comment is something that can be reported to the EEOC. If he goes to EEOC.gov he can report any "harassment" on religion, sexual harassment, national origin if he feels he's being treated differently based on any of that. Obviously, when everything's said and done with that, he probably won't want to work there any more so that would be the first thing he needed to decide on. If he didn't want to take it that far though, my first hand advice would be to go to the supervisor that approved it and talk to him about the situation and go from there."

So for what it's worth... Oh yeah, I should mention that she no longer works for the company that she and I worked at- she did more for us than she did for management...

[Livingston]

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

Very good suggestion.

Count me as *** for the 'apology' route.

I'd take it a step further however... I would write the apology letter to your direct supervisor and CC it to the boss whose permission you DID get. It would read the same as the letter by COURTMOUNT outlined above, with 1 small addition.

"In the future, I would ask that any discussions on my behavior / attire be dealt with in a professional manner, instead of berating me in front of my peers and the store's customers. Such circumstances are best dealt with in private as it's unprofessional to accuse someone of being a 'tranny' in public."

I would apologise to him for your alledged 'unprofessionalism', as well as call him out for HIS unprofessional behavior.

Another very good suggestion.

Personally I'd not give him the satisfaction of a reaction - bide my time.

There is nothing a bully likes more than to see that they have caused long lasting distress. Wear that uniform, shine those shoes - you get the picture I'm sure.

However - in the fullness of time I am also sure that there will be an opportunity for you to meet with the person who gave you permission to wear the kilt. See if you can mention what happened, really casually. No repeating of what was said, just you regret that you weren't allowed to wear the kilt.

Then put a little sting in the tail - that you also regretted upsetting the Major 'after all he's the one actually in charge' sort of thing. If asked for more information be really reluctant to say anything against someone with the power to dismiss you from your job without notice.

Get ever more reluctant - even a bit panicked about the incident. Regret ever mentioning it because he gets so abusive.

Leave it to the man to explain what happened.

If the boss man doesn't pick up on it straight away, don't push it - he might come back to you later whan he's had chance to think it over, or he might not be interested in opening up what could be a can of worms.

If anything bad happens later be sure to remind the boss, respectfully, that you did mention this to him.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

And I like this idea, too.

The super's boss picked out the ensemble!?

This is too weird.

At this point, all I would suggest is to make a backhanded apology. One that, in effect, says "I'm sorry you are a disrespectful idiot" but put in a way the "Major" can't be offended. Also, make sure the approval you had is mentioned.

One thing to remember about most Majors is that they have to much rank to really lead the troops and not enough to make any decisions. I've had approval from a call center director to wear my kilt and then been sent home by my direct manager, just because he could and "thought it would cause problems." And this was after I had worn it a few times before he transfered into that position.

And, yes, his comments are grounds for strict disipline and or termination. If neither one happens you also have grounds to talk to a lawyer although I would not suggest going that far for that level of a position.

[muirkirkca]

I think the lack of civility by the shift supervisor should be dealt with as this type of behaviour will happen again. I wouldn't make a big issue of it but it should be reported nevertheless. You may not be able to wear the kilt but this is a small issue with a potential bully on the loose.