A waiter in Canada fired for allegedly being "aggressive" has filed a complaint against his former employer, claiming he only acted that way because he is French.
Guillaume Rey worked at a Vancouver restaurant on Canada's Pacific Coast between October 2016 and August 2017, before he was sacked for allegedly breaching the company's code of conduct.
Mr Rey was told he was fired for his "aggressive tone and nature with others" following verbal and written performance reviews.
But the waiter disputed the accusations and filed a complaint with British Columbia's Human Rights Tribunal.
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Mr Rey claimed he maintained high standards, which he learned in the French hospitality industry, and that the French culture tended to be "more direct and expressive".
The restaurant claimed Mr Rey's termination had nothing to do with his French background, but rather that he violated workplace policy.
His former employer attempted to snuff out Mr Rey's human rights complaint at the tribunal.
But earlier this month, tribunal member Devyn Cousineau's decision found that a hearing would go ahead.
"Given that there is at least some evidence supporting an inference that Mr Rey’s ancestry was a factor in the termination, and given how little other information I have about what happened, I cannot find that the restaurant has met its burden on this application," she wrote in the decision.
