Edmonton Woman Fired Over Dress Code Files Human Rights Complaint

An Edmonton woman has filed a human rights complaint after she was allegedly fired from her job because of the clothes she wore.

Plaintiff Caitlin Bernier filed her complaint against Alberta Honda, claiming she was told by a female colleague on Sept. 11 that the outfit she wore made her male coworkers uncomfortable and violated the company’s dress code.

The outfit in question was a long-sleeve crew neck shirt and dress pants. The female colleague allegedly told Caitlin to put on a sweater to cover up or go home to change clothes. Caitlin says she decided on a third option: take the matter directly to human resources.

The human resources representative reportedly told Caitlin that the shirt was fine, but allowed her to go home until her manager got back to the office.

According to Caitlin, she received a call about an hour later from the dealership’s general manager, who informed her that she was being fired due to a dress code violation.

“I was fired for wearing an ‘inappropriate outfit’ to work,” Caitlin says in her complaint. “This was the same outfit I was hired in.”

Caitlin says she had worn the same outfit to her job interview earlier this month and was told that it met the car dealership’s business casual expectations.

As for the manager, Caitlin says: “He never saw my outfit. I never got a chance to speak for myself.”

Caitlin’s Facebook Post Goes Viral

After she was fired, Caitlin posted her account of the situation on Facebook with a photo of the outfit she was wearing.

She says she was “embarrassed and physically upset with this whole situation,” and that she “felt as if all the male managers were staring at me.”

According to her Facebook post, Caitlin had asked the dealership to call her when the general manager returned to the office so that she could have a meeting with him. Instead of being offered a meeting, however, he reportedly called her to fire her even though he had not seen what she was wearing.

“At work I was the only female salesperson,” Caitlin’s Facebook post says. “A few days prior to this, a female receptionist was wearing a white spaghetti strap tank top with no bra and was not asked to change.

“I feel discriminated against being the only female sales person and not being given an opportunity to expression [sic] my opinion to the GM or for him to even see what I was wearing.”

Caitlin goes on to say that she had experienced sexual comments from male colleagues, “but my top ‘made the males uncomfortable.’ Who should really be feeling uncomfortable? I am writing this post to show that FEMALE WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION is a real thing! Today I lost by [sic] job because I was a women that didnt fit into a ‘males place of work.’”

Dealership Says Firing Was Not Based on Gender

Alberta Honda says that a decision to fire an employee would “never be based on gender” and that an employee would only be fired for dress code violations after they received repeated warnings.

“It’s only if an employee refuses to comply with the dress code when given an opportunity, if they continued to violate the dress code on multiple occasions or if there were other issues surrounding their performance that we would consider taking further action,” Alberta Honda says in a statement. “We have reviewed the situation in question and are confident that our managers dealt with it appropriately given all of the circumstances involved.”

However, Caitlin says she had not previously received any dress code warnings from management. She had assumed she was on probation but she says she had not received information about the probationary period.

“No one evaluated my performance,” she said. “It all happened at once.”

“Of course you can dismiss someone on probation, but there still has to be a valid reason.”

She says she is not aware if the company’s dress code exists in writing.

Was the Dismissal Discriminatory?

Labour lawyer Sarah Coderre of Calgary reportedly says Caitlin has a “very strong case for wrongful dismissal” because Alberta Honda failed to establish a clear corporate dress code, enforce it consistently and proportionately punish violations.

“I think she would have a very strong case for wrongful dismissal,” Coderre says. “You always have human rights as an employee. Under the common law, probationary workers are still entitled to just cause.”

Eric Adams, vice dean of the University of Alberta’s faculty of law, notes that probationary workers’ legal rights are complicated and regulated by the Alberta Employment Standards Code, the Alberta Human Rights Act and Alberta common law.

Eric reportedly says that employers don’t have an obligation to provide notice to workers who have been employed for fewer than 90 days, but common law provides certain rights to all employees regardless of the length of time they have been employed.

However, he says it is unlikely that she would be awarded significant compensation in civil court. According to Eric, a human rights complaint is Caitlin’s best legal option, noting that many cases have alleged dress code discrimination.

“I think the cases are starting to recognize that, yes, that kind of treatment is, in fact a form of gender discrimination,” he says.

What do you think about Alberta Honda firing Caitlin based on an alleged dress code violation? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below! 

Read More Lawsuit & Settlement News:

Coalition of Hardest Hit Businesses Calls For More Federal Aid Amid COVID-19

Canadian BSC Transvaginal Mesh Settlement

Pandemic Business Interruption Insurance Canada Potential Lawsuit

Long-Term Disability Lawyer | Insurance Claim Denial Help