Cultural Differences?!?

What is the name of your state? Mass

Up untill last week my wife used to work for a large floral supply. She worked in a small room with 3 other ladies unpacking flowers from all over the world and putting them into arrangements. She was thrilled about this position which she had since March, pay was good and hours were fine, so she worked hard to keep it. My wife is an upbeat person who had good working relationships with her boss and supervisors. I had some time off from work comming up and my wife said it would be nice for us to visit family, so she made arrangements with her boss to take unpaid vacation for a week. Upon arriving back to work last week my wife was told that she was being fired: "things didn't work out because of cultural differences". (My wife is Irish and the women she worked with are all Portuguese) These coworkers wanted the "different" person out of their group, and they must have convinced the boss that my wife had to go. No unemployment check, no time consideration to look for another job, she was out that morning.

Now, Is there a case here? In my mind "Cultural Differences" is racism.

Matt77 said:

These coworkers wanted the "different" person out of their group, and they must have convinced the boss that my wife had to go. No unemployment check, no time consideration to look for another job, she was out that morning.

Now, Is there a case here? In my mind "Cultural Differences" is racism.

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Your wife was denied unemployment? AND I mean by the state. Are you confusing severance pay with unemployment?

They do not need to pay severance.

Talk to the EEOC and see if your wife has a case, I seem to doubt it.

I'm not so sure. I tend to think that if a group of employees all of one nationality want the "different" person gone and the person in question is of a different nationality, a case could be made for national origin discrimination, which is illegal.

Certainly your wife should give the EEOC a call and see what they say.

cbg said:

I'm not so sure. I tend to think that if a group of employees all of one nationality want the "different" person gone and the person in question is of a different nationality, a case could be made for national origin discrimination, which is illegal.

Certainly your wife should give the EEOC a call and see what they say.

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I can't tell you the number of times I have seen (and been party too) discussions about "workplace culture" and the "culture of efficency" "safety culture" "family mind towards quality and other HR productivity jargon / propaganda.

She made arrangements to take an unpaid week, returned and was fired...

Looks like somebody is not fitting in with the "culture of efficency'

Now I agree with you cbg, that it is possibly national origin discrimination.

But it is hardly a home run.

Now if when she had been fired it was like "Our portugues way of work is something you will not understand. You don't fit in"

and the firing had been led up to by incidents like:

Rancid corn beef smeared all over her workspace.
Being given a bottle of jamesion filled with (portuguese) anchovie oil
A charicature posted in the bathroom of Henry the Navigator urinating on that Notre Dame mascot charachter...

That is a slam drunk.

I'm not saying it's a slam dunk. It doesn't have to be a slam dunk for the poster's wife to call the EEOC and get their opinion. There's a difference between "workplace culture" and "cultural differences" and it's not necessary for someone to have made comments about the national origin differences for it to be a case of national origin discrimination.

But I think it's a stronger case than you evidently do. What can it hurt to ask?