Discrimination against a Christian?

[Seeler]

Two minor points John.
She says that she is including a cover letter, resume and picture. So the three lines that we see are not her cover letter but a note saying that she is including the necessary documentation. I wondered about that too, why a cover letter for a cover letter? But she clearly did not intend this to be her cover letter.
Her p.s. was added later, after the refusal. I look at it as a sour grapes type of comment--a face saving 'I didn't want the job anyway', comment to sooth her feelings, or an angry retort. Too bad she said it, but I doubt if it was planned from the beginning.

 

[revsdd]

John, I would interpret the "even if I did not qualify" more as a reaction to their assertion that she didn't qualify than as an admission that she didn't qualify.

In any event, the company said they would only contact applicants who qualified. So, either, (1) she qualified but was rejected because of her religious beliefs, or (2) she didn't qualify but the company took the opportunity provided by her application to launch an attack on her religious beliefs.

Either way, the company looks very bad.

 

[Mendalla]

It appears now that she may have applied for a position that never existed. The company is starting to look like it's a sham. Story from the CBC this morning:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...-at-centre-of-anti-christian-attack-1.2794452

It appears that by triggering this controversy, those involved may have inadvertently blown the lid on their own scam.

 

[Waterfall]

And the plot thickens!

 

[Lastpointe]

It is an interesting scam. Not sure what purpose it serves other than to amuse the person doing it. Other women have had weird emails too.

A reminder that there is a lot of scamming on the internet. And yet, that is often how people search for work.

 

[Hermann]

As would I.

I wouldn't want to hire someone from a university that taught a theory as fact.

A scientific theory, like the Theory of Evolution, is not mere speculation, as the name "theory" implies, but is based on empirical evidence and has been derived by the scientific method. It is generally acknowledged by the scientific community to be true. But, as with all scientific facts, it is not absolutely true but subject to change as new scientific insights arise.

 

[revjohn]

Hi Seeler,

Two minor points John.
She says that she is including a cover letter, resume and picture. So the three lines that we see are not her cover letter but a note saying that she is including the necessary documentation. I wondered about that too, why a cover letter for a cover letter? But she clearly did not intend this to be her cover letter.

Fair point.

Her p.s. was added later, after the refusal. I look at it as a sour grapes type of comment--a face saving 'I didn't want the job anyway', comment to sooth her feelings, or an angry retort. Too bad she said it, but I doubt if it was planned from the beginning.

Perhaps. It still is ammunition that could be used against her.

Perhaps one of the lessons to be learned in all of this is that sometimes it is a wiser course of action to shut up and not say, or worse, commit to print things that you really ought not to be saying.

 

[revjohn]

Hi revsdd

John, I would interpret the "even if I did not qualify" more as a reaction to their assertion that she didn't qualify than as an admission that she didn't qualify.

That is a possible interpretation. Since we don't have the whole application (where she would have listed credentials) it is difficult to say for certain.

In any event, the company said they would only contact applicants who qualified. So, either, (1) she qualified but was rejected because of her religious beliefs, or (2) she didn't qualify but the company took the opportunity provided by her application to launch an attack on her religious beliefs.

Either way, the company looks very bad.

On that we are agreed.

 

[Hermann]

Does she or does she not have the minimum qualifications?

Stay tuned for the continuation of this modern day saga about the struggle between the valiant Norse and their Christian oppressors.

 

[revjohn]

Hi Mendalla,

It appears now that she may have applied for a position that never existed. The company is starting to look like it's a sham. Story from the CBC this morning:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...-at-centre-of-anti-christian-attack-1.2794452

It appears that by triggering this controversy, those involved may have inadvertently blown the lid on their own scam.

That is an interesting turn of events.

 

[Hermann]

Getting curiouser and curiouser.

 

[revsdd]

It is an interesting scam. Not sure what purpose it serves other than to amuse the person doing it.

Sometimes that is the only purpose. Some people have far too much time on their hands.

It is an unexpected turn of events. And it paints all Norse neo-pagans who offer travel adventure tours to the Canadian north in a bad light. And there are so many of them.

 

[ChemGal]

Two minor points John.
She says that she is including a cover letter, resume and picture. So the three lines that we see are not her cover letter but a note saying that she is including the necessary documentation. I wondered about that too, why a cover letter for a cover letter? But she clearly did not intend this to be her cover letter.
Her p.s. was added later, after the refusal. I look at it as a sour grapes type of comment--a face saving 'I didn't want the job anyway', comment to sooth her feelings, or an angry retort. Too bad she said it, but I doubt if it was planned from the beginning.

Email often doesn't allow the same type of formatting that can be done in a program like word. I assumed this was just the email she sent, with a more professional cover letter included in the attachment. That makes sense to me. Do you think the cover letter should always be done as an email when applying that way?

 

[ChemGal]

It's weird that they ask for a photo. That's appropriate for an audition type of application, but a company is opening themselves up to a human rights complaint just by requesting it for this type of job IMO.
I'm going to check that info about this being a scam now, that wouldn't surprise me! What company uses the F word in an email?

 

[Mendalla]

Email often doesn't allow the same type of formatting that can be done in a program like word. I assumed this was just the email she sent, with a more professional cover letter included in the attachment. That makes sense to me. Do you think the cover letter should always be done as an email when applying that way?

I'd have to talk to HR to see what is the norm these days (I may be involved in a hire soon, but haven't done one in eight years now). I'd think putting the cover letter as the body of the email with the resume attached would likely be acceptable now but maybe you're still supposed to attach the cover letter in the same format as the resume (Word, PDF, whatever)??

 

[ChemGal]

I'd have to talk to HR to see what is the norm these days (I may be involved in a hire soon, but haven't done one in eight years now). I'd think putting the cover letter as the body of the email with the resume attached would likely be acceptable now but maybe you're still supposed to attach the cover letter in the same format as the resume (Word, PDF, whatever)??

Either way would seem fine to me, I don't know which is seen as the standard. I know many of the online applications it's all attachments. For Chemguy's company, the online system won't work for referrals though. People sometimes prepare the info, and find out after the fact that they need to email it (depending on when the referee is given the info), so people tend to attach it all in the email. That's a bit of a different situation though.

 

[Ritafee]

revjon said "Silence is golden. Keep spouting off and it can cost you some green."

If by green you mean money ... I agree ... basic human rights issues in our 'free speech society' = money ... somebody gets paid and someone has to pay ... money determines whether or not your basic human rights are affordable or not.

revjon also said "That is an Ad Hominem attack." I...not knowing what that meant ...found this ... "Whilst in an argument, to avoid the point (thus a cop-out) and to insult the person arguing. Often because the person who results to the insults has no logical/intelligent point, thus they break down to immaturity." ...

revsdd said "I think that UnDefinitive's personal insinuation about Ms. Paquette is unfair and uncalled for." ... I agree ... as a matter of fact my participation in this thread in it's entirety was uncalled for ... I knew when I jumped in that it would turn out badly ... probably just as Bethany knew that she had the option of not replying to Olaf after his first letter of rejection ... I apologize to each and all that have wasted any of their life energy trying to follow my illogical/unintelligent way of trying to make my point ... that being ... this whole issue is nothing more than a distraction by the media to suck me into moving my focus away from valuable contributionism and instead pull me back to mindless speculation and verbal sparring around sensationalism.

I should know better ... you may all rest assured that I am not offended by any of your comments ... it's only words ... to me there is no distinction between human rights ... all humans have them ... we were born with them ... there is no difference to me between men and women and christians and beggars and vikings and gays and blacks and yellows and on and on ... these are just words ... humans being that is what we all are ... all with the same basic human rights ... money to me is what is the problem in almost any given scenario of wrong with the world ... this is my passion ... I doubt if I will live to see it in my lifetime but for the rest of my being human that is what I am striving towards ... a moneyless world ... In this thread my point would be .... take money out of the equation ... do we still have an issue?

 

[Waterfall]

Of course there's still an issue. Ethics. And anyone who participated in or read this thread learned something.

 

[Ritafee]

What remedies can the Tribunal order?
Remedies are designed to reverse the effects of discrimination, not to punish the person or business that discriminated. They can include an order that the person or business that discriminated must do any of the following:

• stop discriminating
• make available the right, opportunity, or privilege that you didn’t get because of the discrimination (for example, give you your job back, or the right to compete for a job)
• pay you money – called damages – for lost income (including wages and disability and other benefits) and expenses
• the Tribunal can also order the person or business that discriminated to pay you damages for injury to your dignity, feelings, and self respect. There are no limits to the amount of an injury to dignity award, but one of the highest amounts awarded by the Tribunal award was $35,000 in June 2009.

What if you disagree with the Tribunal’s decision?
You can apply to the BC Supreme Court to review the Tribunal’s decision. That can be complicated and you probably need legal help to do so. The Tribunal has information sheets on judicial review on its website at www.bchrt.bc.ca.

What else can you do?
Talk to a lawyer about all your legal options. For the name of a lawyer, call Lawyer Referral at 604.687.3221 in the lower mainland and 1.800.663.1919 elsewhere in BC.

If the discrimination is in your job, and you belong to a union, it may be able to help you. As well, the Employment Standards Act may cover your case and you may have a wrongful dismissal claim – check scripts 270, 280, and 241 for more details. The BC Ministry of Attorney General also has information on human rights protection on its website at www.ag.gov.bc.ca/human-rights-protection

 

[Jaebius]

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/straighttalk/archives/2014/10/20141010-131956.html