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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/04/nyregion/british-pub-in-brooklyn-runs-afoul-with-city-for-help-wanted-ad.html
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| A British Pub’s Offense? Favoring the British | A British Pub’s Offense? Favoring the British |
| (7 days later) | |
| Longbow Pub and Pantry, an oak-paneled haven of sport and imbibition on a busy strip in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, is a British pub through and through, from the Welsh national rugby jersey framed by the bar to the Old Speckled Hen ale in the fish-and-chips batter to the accents that ring loud off the walls during soccer broadcasts. | Longbow Pub and Pantry, an oak-paneled haven of sport and imbibition on a busy strip in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, is a British pub through and through, from the Welsh national rugby jersey framed by the bar to the Old Speckled Hen ale in the fish-and-chips batter to the accents that ring loud off the walls during soccer broadcasts. |
| So when the owners needed a bartender last year, they sought someone who knew the territory. “Energetic and enthusiastic men and women with an appreciation of craft beer, good food, whisky and real football (a k a soccer),” the Craigslist ad read in part. “Being British definitely works in your favor.” | So when the owners needed a bartender last year, they sought someone who knew the territory. “Energetic and enthusiastic men and women with an appreciation of craft beer, good food, whisky and real football (a k a soccer),” the Craigslist ad read in part. “Being British definitely works in your favor.” |
| The résumés trickled in. One applicant, however, was not really looking for a job. She already had one: trolling the classifieds for the New York City Commission on Human Rights. | The résumés trickled in. One applicant, however, was not really looking for a job. She already had one: trolling the classifieds for the New York City Commission on Human Rights. |
| Soon, Longbow received a legal notice. The bar, it said, had violated discrimination law “by giving a preference to employment applicants based on their national origin.” | Soon, Longbow received a legal notice. The bar, it said, had violated discrimination law “by giving a preference to employment applicants based on their national origin.” |
| The commission offered to settle the matter for $2,500. | The commission offered to settle the matter for $2,500. |
| But Longbow’s owners say they are just doing what many thousands of ethnically identified businesses across the city do: seeking the best applicants to help them cater to their audience. They are not giving up without a fight. | But Longbow’s owners say they are just doing what many thousands of ethnically identified businesses across the city do: seeking the best applicants to help them cater to their audience. They are not giving up without a fight. |
| The Colberts say they are perfectly willing to hire qualified people who are not British. | The Colberts say they are perfectly willing to hire qualified people who are not British. |
| “Kate behind the bar, she’s from Long Island,” Jennifer Colbert said on Wednesday as the dregs of the crowd that had gathered to watch Bayern Munich dispatch Barcelona in the Champions League semifinal trickled out into the evening. “But she got her hospitality degree in London.” | “Kate behind the bar, she’s from Long Island,” Jennifer Colbert said on Wednesday as the dregs of the crowd that had gathered to watch Bayern Munich dispatch Barcelona in the Champions League semifinal trickled out into the evening. “But she got her hospitality degree in London.” |
| Ms. Colbert herself is from a magical land by the sea called Mill Basin. It is in Brooklyn. She came by her British bona fides 19 years ago when she met Michael Colbert, a carpenter from Wrexham, Wales. | |
| Ms. Colbert, in her correspondence with the commission, also invoked what one might call the “Hooters defense,” citing a provision of the city law that provides leeway for employment policies that bear “significant relationship to a significant business objective.” | Ms. Colbert, in her correspondence with the commission, also invoked what one might call the “Hooters defense,” citing a provision of the city law that provides leeway for employment policies that bear “significant relationship to a significant business objective.” |
| (Hooters has fended off discrimination suits from men for years by claiming that being female is “reasonably necessary” to the performance of a Hooters Girl’s job duties.) | (Hooters has fended off discrimination suits from men for years by claiming that being female is “reasonably necessary” to the performance of a Hooters Girl’s job duties.) |
| To work at Longbow, she wrote to the commission, “It is essential to know that Wales is not where the Princess is from, why Everton v. Liverpool is an important match, that ‘knocking someone up’ is not about being pregnant, a banger has nothing to do with gangs, black pudding is not a dessert and that the Old Firm has nothing to do with attorneys.” | To work at Longbow, she wrote to the commission, “It is essential to know that Wales is not where the Princess is from, why Everton v. Liverpool is an important match, that ‘knocking someone up’ is not about being pregnant, a banger has nothing to do with gangs, black pudding is not a dessert and that the Old Firm has nothing to do with attorneys.” |
| None of which cuts much ice with the commission. | None of which cuts much ice with the commission. |
| “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,” Cliff Mulqueen, the commission’s general counsel, said this week. “But there’s a difference between saying you have to speak Chinese and saying you have to be Chinese.” | “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,” Cliff Mulqueen, the commission’s general counsel, said this week. “But there’s a difference between saying you have to speak Chinese and saying you have to be Chinese.” |
| As for Ms. Colbert’s assertions that the ad was open-ended in its requirements (“having lived in the U.K. — also a plus,” it said) and that she did not end up hiring anyone who responded, Mr. Mulqueen said, “she’s missing the point.” | As for Ms. Colbert’s assertions that the ad was open-ended in its requirements (“having lived in the U.K. — also a plus,” it said) and that she did not end up hiring anyone who responded, Mr. Mulqueen said, “she’s missing the point.” |
| “The point is that she posted an ad that is discriminatory because she is expressing a preference for one group of people over another,” he continued. | “The point is that she posted an ad that is discriminatory because she is expressing a preference for one group of people over another,” he continued. |
| The relevant language from the city administrative code states that it is unlawful for an employer to circulate any advertisement that expresses any specification as to national origin. | The relevant language from the city administrative code states that it is unlawful for an employer to circulate any advertisement that expresses any specification as to national origin. |
| Justin Brannan, spokesman for the local city councilman, Vincent J. Gentile, had some choice words for the commission’s efforts, including “quintessential ‘letter of the law,’ versus ‘spirit of the law’ ” and “predatory ‘gotcha’ enforcement” that he said belied the city’s pro-small-business cant. “They’re not enforcing these laws to protect the public,” said Mr. Brannan, who is also president of a club, the Bay Ridge Democrats, that has held events at Longbow. “They’re enforcing them to generate revenue.” | Justin Brannan, spokesman for the local city councilman, Vincent J. Gentile, had some choice words for the commission’s efforts, including “quintessential ‘letter of the law,’ versus ‘spirit of the law’ ” and “predatory ‘gotcha’ enforcement” that he said belied the city’s pro-small-business cant. “They’re not enforcing these laws to protect the public,” said Mr. Brannan, who is also president of a club, the Bay Ridge Democrats, that has held events at Longbow. “They’re enforcing them to generate revenue.” |
| Cases like the one against Longbow are relatively rare, Mr. Mulqueen said. Last year, with help from their “testers” — college students who work for $8 an hour — the commission initiated 31 employment discrimination claims. A vast majority were sex-based (restaurants advertising for a “waitress” and the like); only three were national origin cases, including a pending one against an East Village cafe that advertised for “European waitresses and waiters.” | Cases like the one against Longbow are relatively rare, Mr. Mulqueen said. Last year, with help from their “testers” — college students who work for $8 an hour — the commission initiated 31 employment discrimination claims. A vast majority were sex-based (restaurants advertising for a “waitress” and the like); only three were national origin cases, including a pending one against an East Village cafe that advertised for “European waitresses and waiters.” |
| Last fall, the Colberts said, they tried hiring someone with no knowledge of British culture. | Last fall, the Colberts said, they tried hiring someone with no knowledge of British culture. |
| “She was from Jersey,” Ms. Colbert said, not referring to the island off the Normandy coast. “The customers didn’t take to her.” | “She was from Jersey,” Ms. Colbert said, not referring to the island off the Normandy coast. “The customers didn’t take to her.” |
| Mr. Colbert added: “She didn’t understand when they were making jokes. There’s a certain cadence to the sarcasm that just flew over her shoulders.” She did not last. | Mr. Colbert added: “She didn’t understand when they were making jokes. There’s a certain cadence to the sarcasm that just flew over her shoulders.” She did not last. |
| On Thursday, Ms. Colbert said, she got a call from a commission official who warned that the fine could rise to $7,500 if she went to trial before an administrative law judge. “He also had the audacity to tell me that according to my requirements, I was not qualified to work in my own pub,” she added. | On Thursday, Ms. Colbert said, she got a call from a commission official who warned that the fine could rise to $7,500 if she went to trial before an administrative law judge. “He also had the audacity to tell me that according to my requirements, I was not qualified to work in my own pub,” she added. |
| The official, Ms. Colbert said, urged her to pay the fine before the date of a coming “conciliation meeting.” The meeting is to be scheduled for next month, she said. | The official, Ms. Colbert said, urged her to pay the fine before the date of a coming “conciliation meeting.” The meeting is to be scheduled for next month, she said. |
| “I’m looking forward to it,” she said. | “I’m looking forward to it,” she said. |
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | |
| Correction: May 9, 2013 | |
An earlier version of this article omitted the given name of an owner of Longbow Pub and Pantry. As the caption noted, he is Michael Colbert. (An earlier version of a picture caption with this article also misstated his surname as Cobert.) |