Waitress loses job after shaving head for cancer charity

[PeaceNikki]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/06/05/shaved-head.html


Stacey Fearnall said it was a 'pretty easy thing'
to shave her head to raise money for cancer research,
but was stunned when her boss fired her over it. (CBC)

A 36-year-old waitress at an Owen Sound, Ont., restaurant lost her job this week after she shaved her head to raise money for a cancer charity.

Stacey Fearnall raised more than $2,700 for the charity Cops for Cancer, a local fundraiser for cancer research.

Then the 36-year-old waitress at Nathaniels restaurant was laid off when she showed up for work earlier this week with her newly shorn look.

Up until a week ago, Fearnall had long red locks, but she said she made the decision to have her head shaved because she has a friend battling cancer and she lost her father to the disease.

"I felt like this was a pretty easy thing for me to do to raise money to help people," she told CBC News on Thursday.

She said she told her bosses what she was planning to do, but when she arrived at work at the restaurant practically bald, she said they sent her home and told her she wasn't welcome back.

[jojo54]

1. And the moral of the story is,

in this day and age, don't try to be a good Samaritan because you'll get your ass kicked for it!!

[PeaceNikki]

2. Call me an optimist, but I'd like to think most employers wouldn't handle it this way.

[Bolo Boffin]

3. I'd agree.

If I was in charge of hiring, she'd have a job right now.

[blondeatlast]

7. You're an otimist, but so am I. nt

[nashville_brook]

16. actually, i think the moral to the story is that workers have no power -- we need a WILDCAT SHAVING!

all area waitresses shed their locks in SOLIDARITY! who's with me?

[DAGDA56]

4. Her former employer is an idiot...he/she should be embracing this kind of

positive publicity, making sure Ms. Fernall is on every local newscast standing in front of the restaurant. I don't think she will be unemployed for long

[awoke_in_2003]

19. I agree.

Not only positive publicity- if I was an employer I would love to have someone like this working for me. She is evidently a caring and dedicated person.

[laylah]

5. Contact info

http://www.restaurantica.com/info/contact.aspx

[Maine-ah]

6. question on your link

it looks more like a restuarant review site, not a direct link to Nathaniel's....

on edit

this is the only contact info I can find for them, no email

Nathaniel's Restaurant
215 8th St. East
Owen Sound , ON N4K 1L2
Phone: [phone]
Cuisine: Seafood, Steak, Fine Dining

as a waitress, this seriously pisses me off.

[Maine-ah]

11. heh, phone has been consistently busy.

[The Straight Story]

20. Kick for the contact info (nt)

[malaise]

8. Fuck her employer

Disgusting. I hope she sues them.

[Maine-ah]

9. I'm kicking this

for hopes that people here will contact the management at this restaurant. As soon as I post this, I'm calling them.

[DailyGrind51]

10. If this charity is being coordinated by local cops,

look for that restaurant to deluged with citations for various "violations" in the coming months.

[kestrel91316]

12. Why didn't he just ask her to wear a scarf or wig until it grew back,

if he didn't like it???? That would have been reasonable........

Why do I get the funny feeling the boss is some sort of RW bible-thumping, gay-hating, authoritarian skirt chaser??????

[PeaceNikki]

13. He did. She refused to wear a wig

[kestrel91316]

14. I'm sure she would have been happy to slap on a scarf if he

had bothered to ask. Just 'til her hair grew in a tiny bit, so as not to completely freak people out thinking SHE was the one with cancer.........

[PeaceNikki]

15. Why should she "hide" what she did for this cause?

Why is a shaved head on a woman so "offensive" that it's unacceptable?

Does THIS look freakish enough to warrant hiding? :shrug:



I say no.

Losing your hair to chemotherapy and radiation is not a decorum issue. Neither is shaving it off in sympathy with cancer patients. These are badges of human endurance, beside which "decorum" is so much empty vanity.

Put a wig over it? Hell, no.

That misses the human point of what the Stacey Fearnalls are doing. Cancer patients shouldn’t have to hide under wigs or worry about silly conventions. In a world with its head on straight, they are the VIPs in any venue and acts of caring are never out of place.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Editorial/1060661.html

[awoke_in_2003]

21. I just see a warm, caring human being. nt

[kestrel91316]

55. I never called her a freak, and I seriously resent the implication that I did.

I merely suggested that IF it was a point of contention in the workplace, the employer need not have required a wig. A request to wear a scarf would not have pissed her off, I suspect.

[Chulanowa]

24. Dude. No.

First, she doesn't look the least bit "freaky." And if it does unnerve people, it could open dialog. Her employer is a dumbass who just missed a large opportunity for positive publicity via word of mouth if nothing else.

At the bottom of this is plain sexism - She's apparently supposed to have long "womanly" hair for employment there. Which is in a word, ridiculous.

Ten bucks says her boss is a balding man.

[kestrel91316]

57. I'm no dude, dude.

As an employee in a restaurant, her employer was mildly justified in any concern he might have had about her freaking people out (people can be stupid, in case you hadn't noticed).

I did not CALL her a freak, IIRC.

I strongly suspect the boss is a sexist pig, but there is a legitimate issue here about any potential harm to the business. It would have been wise for her to give him a head's up beforehand - don't know if she did. In a restaurant, SOME customers probably would have a concern that a bald waitress was on chemo and might up and puke on them. And then you have your morons that still think cancer is contagious.

It would be a very teachable moment IF the entire restaurant and staff had been of one mind and celebrated what she did.

[Lars39]

47. Ah. There it is. They probably didn't want customers to think they

were being served by someone with cancer. These idiots probably think cancer is contagious.

[kestrel91316]

58. Trust me. A shocking number of people do. And they can usually

recite the plots of every single episode of Lost, and name every single winner of American Idol back to Day One.

Welcome to the USA, 2008.

[ChazII]

56. The Canadian version anyway. :) n/t

[applegrove]

17. She'll get another job. And have better employers for doing it.

[PeaceNikki]

18. I don't doubt that for a second.

[awoke_in_2003]

22. Like I said upthread

if i was an employer, I would be dying to get employees like this. Because in a world full of shitheads, it is sometimes hard to find a good person.

[LisaL]

23. That's weird.

She is shown on the photo with very short hair, so it's not like she is even bald.

[RamboLiberal]

25. Update on the story

All she wants is for the owners to admit they made a mistake!

Owen Sound waitress Stacey Fearnall tells Bayshore Broadcasting News the whole situation has gotten out of hand and she doesn't want to hurt the restaurant she worked in for nearly two years.

Fearnall has been swamped with media requests since news broke that she was told to consider herself laid off, after she shaved her head in the Cops for cancer event last weekend.

Owner of Nathaniels restaurant, Dan Hilliard declined twice to be interviewed by Bayshore broadcasting News.

He handed out a news release stating "he is very disappointed Stacey Fearnall has chosen to deal with this issue in such a public manner."

http://www.radioowensound.com/news.php?id=12175

Nathaniel's restaurant was closed Thursday evening, the day the upscale Owen Sound eatery made headlines and newscasts across the country after waitress Stacey Fearnall was laid off for shaving her head in a Cops for Cancer fundraiser.

Other Nathaniel's employees, however, were standing behind Dan Hilliard and Jeff Ferris, the restaurant's owner and manger.

"I am upset for them. They are a physical wreck today," said kitchen employee Cathy Cruickshank. "It just breaks my heart. I'm shaken, I'm upset, I'm hurt."

Staff members said the owners are generous people who support numerous charities and always help their employees when needed.

http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1062037&auth=BY+DENIS+LANGLOIS%2C+SUN+TIMES+STAFF

That restaurant is getting a ton of bad publicity!

[PeaceNikki]

26. More here

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2008/06/07/5802586-sun.html

"If you want to show your support for me and the Cancer Society, you need to go to the website and sponsor me. That's what I want to see," Fearnall said yesterday. "That's how I would show the owners of the restaurant that this is important to me and . . . others."

...

"Treating this with a negative slant only hurts the cause and we really don't want negative attention and we don't want (Nathaniel's owner Dan Hilliard) mistreated," Fearnall said. "In general, he was a good employer."

That said, Fearnall continues to believe the restaurant's management made a mistake, which they have yet to rectify. "I don't understand why he isn't doing anything now to fix this," she said.

[Trillo]

27. Don't watch what the employer does (in reality), listen to what they say!

Staff members said the owners are generous people who support numerous charities and always help their employees when needed.

Well, the employer created a wonderful example to those employees. Likely they're afraid of losing their jobs!

[Pushed To The Left]

40. Looks like she got the better of them in this fight!

She's getting job offers and support while they are closing down! If only things went this way more often for unscrupulous employers.

[Fleshdancer]

28. Idiots. The SMART thing to do would be to match the donations at a press conference

How idiotic do you have to be as a business owner? This is a perfect opportunity to do good and to get free publicity in the process.

If I lived in that town, I wouldn't eat at this restaurant after reading this article. I would also forward this article to everyone I knew.

[arikara]

29. This also happened in our town a few years ago

A couple of women shaved their heads for the same cause. The restaurant told them to wear wigs and they refused so they were fired. It hurt the business, there's many people including us who have never been back since.

Wouldn't it have been smarter to put up a big sign saying they're proud of the women, and put out a box for donations?

[Fleshdancer]

31. Not only that, but they could have called the local press...

These situations make for fantastic feature articles and news stories. Support the philanthropy of your employees, pitch in to help, and reap the karmic rewards of free advertising through the local media.

Firing employees who do this is the most stupid thing an employer could do.

[Canuckistanian]

30. Owen Sound? Man, is that owner going to be sorry he did that

Owen Sound is a lovely little town. My cousin lives there.

They're all friendly, open-minded, generous and closely-knit, as are many other small towns.

I'm guessing that he's regretting it already.

[uppityperson]

32. Good thing. If she tried to use the women's restroom at work she might've gotten in trouble.

:sarcasm: What with having a Man's Haircut and all. :sarcasm: k&r

[NorthernSpy]

33. She wasn't fired for shaving her head. She was fired for refusing to wear a wig during her shift.

She was offered a reasonable accommodation, and she refused it. That pretty much ends any legitimate complaint she might otherwise have had.


Bottom line: when you're at your at your job, you're being paid to do what the boss wants you to do -- not to make your own "statements", no matter how praiseworthy.

[PeaceNikki]

35. I say bullshit.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Editorial/1060661.html

Losing your hair to chemotherapy and radiation is not a decorum issue. Neither is shaving it off in sympathy with cancer patients. These are badges of human endurance, beside which "decorum" is so much empty vanity.

Put a wig over it? Hell, no.

That misses the human point of what the Stacey Fearnalls are doing. Cancer patients shouldn’t have to hide under wigs or worry about silly conventions. In a world with its head on straight, they are the VIPs in any venue and acts of caring are never out of place.

[NorthernSpy]

43. if your job calls for a certain standard of grooming...

... and you're offered an accommodation (wearing a wig after you've gone and shaved your head) to help you meet that standard, and you refuse and say that you want to make a statement...


Then I'd remind you that once you punch out, your time is again your own, and you can make all the statements you want to make.


But why would you even want to spend your time on the job doing your own thing? Emotionalizing the workplace like that just makes it suck worse. Trust me on that.

[MonkeyFunk]

36. Nonsense

Why should she have to wear a wig? I doubt the company had a stated policy that employees must have hair.

Do male employees have to wear wigs if they go bald?

[NorthernSpy]

41. In the US (not sure about Canada) different hair length regs for men and women...

... are legal and not actionable discrimination.


This has been the subject of numerous court rulings, believe it or not. (Mostly as a result of men hoping to overturn a mandatory short-hair-for-men policy.)


And unless she was working under a contract that set some other standards or procedures for termination, then the boss can let her go for pretty much any reason.

[riderinthestorm]

42. Then these owners deserve every bit of bad PR they are reaping because of firing her for this. nt

[NorthernSpy]

46. No, they don't. I'm tired of attention whores.

I'm even tired of attention whores flogging good causes.


Patrons go to a restaurant to eat -- not to get harangued about social issues.

[tabasco]

48. Yes, they do.

Shitheads often have the legal right to act like shitheads, but they do deserve to be exposed as shitheads.

There is no evidence that the waitress was haranguing patrons. You just made that up. That makes you a liar.

[NorthernSpy]

50. if she didn't mean to make a statement, then why not wear the damn wig?

Just to maintain the appearance of hair during her shift -- that was all anyone was asking for.


Oh, but that would have defeated the purpose (lookitmeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!)



:eyes:

[riderinthestorm]

59. Clearly you have never worn a wig before

Even more obviously, you haven't dealt with anyone who has for any significant lengths of time - such as a chemo patient.

Wigs are hot, itchy and uncomfortable. They shift on your head which is irritating. In a manual labor job (like waitressing), it would be really difficult to keep that sucker in proper position for 8 - 10 hours at a time. The pressure of a secure fitting wig can destroy hair follicles permanently thus rendering a person who wears them consistently, permanently bald.

Personally, I can't even imagine trying to waitress in a wig. And the thought of wearing that kind of headcovering for 8 - 10 hours/day, 5 days/week makes my skin crawl just thinking about it.

Finally, all of the above is beyond the point: the owners requiring their female waitresses to have long hair (or the appearance thereof) is sexist and in this day and age, it's just plain wrong. There wasn't a problem with her job performance, just her looks - why are you persisting in trying to make this issue about how she looks? I'm glad the owners have been shown to be the boorish pigs that they most certainly are, if they would fire an employee for cutting her hair in a cancer fundraiser!

[pitohui]

37. i don't get that at all, spy, bald is better for that particular job anyway?

working in a restaurant, a shaved head is cleaner and more sterile and healthier in every way for the public, than either natural hair or a wig

it isn't like she was hired to be a vegas showgirl, she was waiting tables

i can't see any employment related reason at all to prefer a worker with hair to a shaved worker

while it can be argued that one should engage in political advocacy on the job, real world, everyone's against cancer and her action could only be a positive talking point for the restaurant

i don't see the downside for the employer, he took a positive for his restaurant and created a negative because of his own bias

[NorthernSpy]

49. maybe so, but it's not your restaurant...

:shrug:


And no, the restaurant owner didn't create negative publicity. His (former) employee did that when she refused to wear a wig during her shift and then ran to the media to do some badmouthing.



You know, it's funny. I'm kind of a socialist, for crying out loud!

On the other hand, maybe that's why I'm very aware that the capitalist workplace is where you go to get money -- not "meaning", or emotional validation.

[MattBaggins]

38. Is that reasonable?

Do men with short/shaved/bald hair have to wear wigs? Never heard of a story of a man getting fired for having a bald head and refusing to wear a wig.

Not reasonable at all.

[NorthernSpy]

51. Reasonable? Meh. Legal? Yes.

I supposed that if they wanted to make bald guys wear rugs during work hours, they could do that.

:shrug:


Heck, I personally think that men should be allowed to have long hair in any workplace.


I personally do not own the workplaces of America.

[babylonsister]

45. Bull. What if she just felt like cutting her hair really short? Why do her

bosses assume they can control what she does with her hair? They can by firing her, but I hope she sues their pants off. I wouldn't want my husband telling me what to do with my hair, nevermind my boss. :mad:

[NorthernSpy]

52. What if they just felt like setting the dress code in their restaurant?

Why is this woman trying to control employee grooming policy in a restaurant she doesn't own?


Seriously, the bosses didn't try to control her hair. She just refused to meet them halfway by not wearing a wig during work hours. I can think of many, many cases more deserving of righteous outrage.

[Heathen57]

54. This type of thinking goes back to the old days

Bottom line: when you're at your at your job, you're being paid to do what the boss wants you to do -- not to make your own "statements", no matter how praiseworthy.

It was often used by the owner/manager to get the waitresses to give them sexual favors in order to keep their jobs.

I am not saying that you are suggesting that this should be the rule. I am only pointing out that the employer doesn't have ultimate authority over his/her workers, no matter how much some would like to think.

[depakid]

34. Talk about bad PR

Some folks just can't help but shoot themselves in the foot....

[Pushed To The Left]

39. Are there any laws in Canada that would allow her to sue their asses?

Maybe Canadian DUers could start a boycott of this Nathaniels place. Is it a chain or a single restaurant?

[NorthernSpy]

53. I hope not.

Legitimate discrimination/ wrongful termination cases are tough enough to pursue without nonsense like this knocking around in the way.


Look: she was offered the option of wearing a wig during her shift, and she refused. How does that leave her grounds to sue?

[MrScorpio]

44. NO good deed goes unpunished

I hope she finds a better job