Server fired after asking to be called by preferred pronouns receives $30K

A former server at a Gibson's B.C. restaurant has been awarded $30,000 after a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision determined they were unfairly terminated for asking management and co-workers to call them by their proper pronouns.

The decision, decided by Devyn Cousineau of the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, found that Jessie Nelson, a non‐binary, gender fluid, transgender person who uses they/them pronouns, was terminated because of "how they responded to discrimination."

In 2019 Nelson was hired as a server at Buono Osteria, a Gibson's restaurant run by Michael Buono and Ryan Kingsberry. The 42-page decision describes a work environment where some colleagues respected Nelson's preferred pronouns, while others were unhappy when they raised issues about inclusion.

The decision says bar manager Brian Gobelle was particularly hostile, repeatedly and persistently referring to Nelson with she/her pronouns and with gendered nicknames like "sweetheart," "honey," and "pinky" — a reference to their pink hair.

The situation eventually escalated into a verbal altercation between Nelson and Gobelle, during which Nelson touched Gobelle on his shoulder and called him "sweetheart" in return — though Cousineau determined this did not amount to a physical assault.

Four days later, Nelson was told over the phone that they were being terminated, a conversation that was overheard by co-worker Stacy Coplin.

"Eventually [Kingsberry] told Jessie Nelson that they had just come off 'too strong too fast' and were too 'militant' — a word that reminded Jessie Nelson of what Mr. Gobelle had said about them," reads one section of the decision.