Is it racist to not want to hire somebody because they smell like ethnic food?

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by pylon

This ^^^^

It really would be no different than me playing an early beer league game, or going for a 2 hour bike ride in 30 degree weather, then just patting my self down, throwing on a suit, and going into an interview smelling like balls, vinegar and chewed up corn chips and expecting to be hired. It is not realistic. If some Polish guy walked in reeking of Keilbasa, pickled herring and onions, it would be no different either.

An employer is under no obligation to hire or not hire you for any reason whatsoever. Regardless of if you are the best candidate or not. He could not hire you because he thinks your voice is too high, or because he doesn't like the color of your tie.

Is it wrong on a certain level? Sure it is superficial, just like the pink hair mattress dude. But where this is different, you are owed nothing, and have no rights to anything, until someone hires you, puts you on payroll and you complete your probation period.

Are you sure about that part? Maybe they have no obligation to hire you, but if you could prove they discriminated against you for race, sexual orientation, gender, age, etc. they'd be facing a lawsuit.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Are you sure about that part? Maybe they have no obligation to hire you, but if you could prove they discriminated against you for race, sexual orientation, gender, age, etc. they'd be facing a lawsuit.

I suppose if you were stupid enough to say "I did not hire that guy because he is a [insert ethnicity or religion]" you would have a case. But that would be a really stupid thing to say if you were the employer. But there is zero obligation for anyone to hire you for any reason. Just because a job is posted, and you are the best candidate, doesn't mean it belongs to you.

It would be a pretty difficult thing to prove in any case without having a recorded conversation.

[nik-]

But not hiring someone for odour is none of those things.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by nik-

But not hiring someone for odour is none of those things.

And that was the original point I was making. BO does not discriminate.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by pylon

I suppose if you were stupid enough to say "I did not hire that guy because he is a [insert ethnicity or religion]" you would have a case. But that would be a really stupid thing to say if you were the employer. But there is zero obligation for anyone to hire you for any reason. Just because a job is posted, and you are the best candidate, doesn't mean it belongs to you.

It would be a pretty difficult thing to prove in any case without having a recorded conversation.

I agree it would be difficult to prove, but you don`t need the interviewer to explicitly state that they didn`t hire you because you were not the stereotype they wanted. It's probably easier to verify in cases where getting the position is based purely on merit and ability. If you have a guy with Down Syndrome who can lift 100 lbs looking at a job at a warehouse, and you hire someone weaker without Down Syndrome it would be an easy case.

Plus, there are reasons why the girls at Hooters aren't hot and busty anymore.

[Flames_Gimp]

I think smelling like ass is pretty universal

[AMG_G]

So the office people who complain about ethnic foods people bring in for lunch that smell up the office are all racist....people use the race card far too liberally nowadays.

[zuluking]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Well, without giving all the details, I'll shed a little more light on this. I do need to maintain some discretion, unfortunately, but I'm sure you guys can understand.

• The job is in a factory in a hands-on position
• People of many races work in the factory
• The person not wanting to hire the candidate comes from a place that I would consider to be more xenophobic than Canada
• The position was posted for about six months. Eleven interviews in that time. This was the best candidate by a fairly wide margin in that time, save for the odor issue.

We have a fact and an opinion. I'll go with the fact and say that the decision was not racially-motivated but rather nasally-motivated.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by AMG_G

So the office people who complain about ethnic foods people bring in for lunch that smell up the office are all racist....people use the race card far too liberally nowadays.

is hating popcorn eaters racist?

[GP_Matt]

For those suggesting that the interviewee should be told that his smell is an issue I would be pretty nervous to do this myself. I don't think the decision is racist, but if you mention the smell and they don't eliminate it and then don't get the job they could likely file a human rights complaint. All that is required is a single form to fill out and then the provincial HRC will start a case including an investigation and a tribunal that you will have to attend to defend yourself. Even if you win you still lose because it took a bunch of your time and you may have decided to hire a lawyer to help defend you.

The downside risk of giving a reason to me far outweighs the benefits to the employer of giving that reason and I would be very reluctant to do it.

[Travis Munroe]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

is hating popcorn eaters racist?

What ethnicity are you pairing popcorn with

[longsuffering]

Originally Posted by AMG_G

So the office people who complain about ethnic foods people bring in for lunch that smell up the office are all racist....people use the race card far too liberally nowadays.

Who said that?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Realtor 1

What ethnicity are you pairing popcorn with

are over weight mid 30's female office workers that think they are losing weight by stuffing their gob with popcorn a race?

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by AMG_G

So the office people who complain about ethnic foods people bring in for lunch that smell up the office are all racist....people use the race card far too liberally nowadays.

I don't care what you bring for lunch but don't bring fish and cook it. I don't care what color or race you are, cooking fish in the microwave at work is just wrong! The smell lingers for up to 30 minutes and I actually know some people that dislike fish to the extent that the smell makes them nauseous. I don't hate fish but I hate wallowing in the smell.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

are over weight mid 30's female office workers that think they are losing weight by stuffing their gob with popcorn a race?

LOL so true.

[AMG_G]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

is hating popcorn eaters racist?

Yes but only if they are eating White cheddar.

[BlackRedGold25]

Goddamnit!! Now I'm craving cheese flavoured popcorn!

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

For those suggesting that the interviewee should be told that his smell is an issue I would be pretty nervous to do this myself. I don't think the decision is racist, but if you mention the smell and they don't eliminate it and then don't get the job they could likely file a human rights complaint. All that is required is a single form to fill out and then the provincial HRC will start a case including an investigation and a tribunal that you will have to attend to defend yourself. Even if you win you still lose because it took a bunch of your time and you may have decided to hire a lawyer to help defend you.

The downside risk of giving a reason to me far outweighs the benefits to the employer of giving that reason and I would be very reluctant to do it.

This is very true.

There are many employment agencies who would be able to diagnose this problem for you (Ethnic or not), that would be the proper arena to be providing feedback.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Plus, there are reasons why the girls at Hooters aren't hot and busty anymore.

They're not? Too bad. Its been years since I've been there, but when I think back I do have fond mammaries..

[MRCboicgy]

In my Gym on mondays, there seems to be one Indian guy on the treadmill next to me. after about 15 minutes of sweating, the smell is overwhelming. Sweat+old Indian food that's permeated his clothes. It honestly gags me, but it's not like it's him personally.

I actually had my boss not hire an internal candidate because of his cologne that was so overpowering. He was from Europe and had every negative Eurotrash stereotype, but it was the cologne which made me tell my boss that he should go with someone else. My boss laughed and agreed.

Yep, bad person right here