Māori waitress deserves a better apology, James Hardie should investigate racist comments: Lawyer

Tuesday, 27 August 2019

James Hardie should investigate an incident where a group of its employees, including senior staff, mocked a waitress for being Māori, an employment lawyer says.

Mia Griffiths, a 17-year-old waitress working at a restaurant on Auckland's Viaduct Harbour, was left embarrassed after a table of staff from the building materials company laughed at racist comments made by a member of the group.

The man's comments implied Griffith's family could not afford to eat at the restaurant because they were Māori, Newshub reported.

Griffiths claimed the man looked at the others at the table for validation, and they laughed along with him.

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Mia Griffiths, 17, was taunted for being Māori at a restaurant in Auckland's CBD.

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Employment lawyer Peter Cullen says James Hardie should have personally apologised to Mia Griffiths and open an investigation into its employees' conduct.

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The man was not a James Hardie employee but his partner was a senior staffer, Newshub reported.

Mia Griffiths, Patrick Gower and Mia's dad Jim. 'I am not a fan of the term 'casual racism'. That is because there is no such thing as casual racism. There is only one kind of racism and that's vile racism,' Patrick Gower posted on Instagram.

Employment lawyer Peter Cullen said normally an employee would not be at risk for comments made by their friends or partner, but in this case it appeared the senior staff member was laughing along and dining with other staff.

'I think the employee could be at risk because they went along with it. The other people at the table laughed and no one challenged the comments,' Cullen said.

'Egging them on, or at the very least being silent is not what an employer expects from one of its senior staff.

'The more senior you are, the more you're seen as a representative of your employer and you'd be expect to have a high standard of behaviour,' Cullen said.

James Hardie's country manager Alan Bones sent the restaurant a written apology last week, which the restaurant owner felt was 'wholehearted and genuine', Newshub reported

Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon says businesses must take allegations of racism or racial harassment 'very seriously'.

Griffiths and James Hardie have been approached for comment.

Cullen said James Hardie could do better with its apology.

'I'd offer to meet with the waitress and apologise personally and get the worker to come along too,' he said.

Cullen said Jamies Hardie could also investigate the matter and question other staff about what happened.

'It would also be a good thing if they said publicly they were a company that respected everyone and deplore any racism in any form in a public statement.

Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon said businesses must take allegations of racism or racial harassment 'very seriously'.

'I encourage those who feel that have been racially harassed to contact the Human Rights Commission, who offer a complaints and disputes resolution service.

'At the same time, I offer my support to business leaders to play their part to help eliminate racism. All New Zealanders must ensure that we give nothing to racism,' Foon said.

Green MP Golriz Ghahraman tweeted that she was 'shocked' neither the company management nor people involved apologised to Griffiths personally.

Others on social media have called on James Hardie to appologise to Griffiths.

Some have said on Facebook that they would stop buying from the company.