Welsh pub in New York FINED for race discrimination after advertising for bar staff with ‘knowledge of British culture’
- Owners fined £1,600 for race discrimination
- The owners and staff now have to undergo anti-discrimination training
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The owner of a Welsh bar in New York has been fined £1,600 for race discrimination after trying to hire staff with a 'knowledge of British culture'.
Ex-pat Michael Colbert, 54, was hauled up in front of a human rights commission after advertising for new staff with an interest in Britain.
The landlord placed a job advert for the Longbow - the only Welsh pub in the Big Apple - looking for bar tenders with a knowledge of the UK.
'Being British definitely works in your favour':
The Long Bow Pub & Pantry in Brooklyn, New York, got into trouble
after adding that statement to a vacancy for bar staff advertised on the
classified ads website Craigslist
But they agreed in a pre-trial conference to pay a fine of $2,500 (£1,600) issued by New York City's Commission of Human Rights.
Part of the agreement also stipulates that the couple and their staff have to undergo anti-discrimination training within the next 120 days. In a statement the couple said: Free speech is not so free after all it seems'.
Michael said: 'We advertised for someone with a knowledge of Britain and Wales, the culture and the differences we have. We are looking for people with a certain skill set who will create the right atmosphere for people walking in. To create that nuanced Welsh thing within the pub. But somewhere along the writing of the advert we fell a foul of the authorities.'
Michael is an ex-carpenter who moved to New York from Wrexham, North Wales, more than 20 years ago. He married his American wife and opened the bar in the Brooklyn area of the city.
The bar is popular with tourists and ex-pats, they have a Welsh rugby shirt behind the bar, serve curry and chips and show the Premier League. The vacancy at the bar has now been filled by a 'football mad' Irish woman.
But the couple added they were looking forward to getting on with running the pub.
'We are grateful for all the support we have received, locally, nationally and internationally,' they said in a statement.
Jennifer said: 'We are New York's only Welsh pub a fact that we are very proud of and we get thousands of Welsh visitors every year. We're introducing everybody to Welsh culture and telling them all about Wales.'
The Longbow bills itself as the only Welsh pub in the Big Apple
'And just because we all speak English doesn't mean Americans and Brits are interchangeable.'
The couple's legal problems started when they posted an advert on website Craigslist looking for new staff. The job description read: 'Energetic and enthusiastic men and women with an appreciation of craft beer, good food, whisky and real football (a.k.a. soccer).
'Being British definitely works in your favour - Bring an ex-pat or lived in the UK - also a plus.'
It also said staff should know why Liverpool vs Everton is an important match, and that the Old Firm refers to a match between Celtic and Rangers and not a law company.
Cliff Mulqueen, general counsel of the New York City Commission of Human Rights, said: 'There's an argument that someone who works in a Chinese restaurant, for example, may need to speak Chinese in order to communicate with their co-workers.
But there's a difference between saying you have to speak Chinese and saying you have to be Chinese. The point is that they posted an ad that is discriminatory because she is expressing a preference for one group of people over another.'
New York City's human rights commissioner Patricia Gatling said it would not be illegal to 'demand a knowledge of the food, spirit or culture that conforms to your business model.'
She said: 'But you cannot give a preference to anyone from a particular country. It is our hope they understand that discrimination in this city is illegal and at the end of the day violators will pay.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2345741/Welsh-pub-New-York-FINED-race-discrimination-advertising-bar-staff-knowledge-British-culture.html#ixzz2WvgXNaxO
Would a bar also be fined for race discrimination when that bar would advertize for bar staff with "knowledge of American culture"?
ReplyDeleteOr when a bar would advertize for staff with "knowledge of Dutch culture", or "German culture", or "Russian culture", or "Polish culture" or any non-American culture?
The ordination in itself is discriminatory, because it excludes any other-then-American culture!
And then to think.... apart from the native culture, there is no American culture... All inhabitants of what we now know as America, aka the United States of America, are in fact foreigners, and or descendants of foreigners!
America's historical culture is derived from other cultures, originating from other cultures, that is why there are ghettos, and whole areas were people of and with a certain background are living... Chines, Polish, Russian, Dutch, German etc. etc.
If the ordinance would be correctly endorsed and enforced, all these separated areas of cities should be dissolved and all living there should be prosecuted for discrimination, and the area-leaders fined on the same basis!
In other words, prosecuting and fining this specific location, and its owners, because they seel bar staff with a knowledge (not even background!) of a certain culture is stupid, rubbish, idiotic and discriminatory in itself... and above all..... nationalistic and racist by definition!
The nazis in Germany did the same were and when it concerned people with a jewish cultural background.....
Is America turning into the 4th Reich?