Investigator says N-word 'synonymous with historical weight of denigration, racism, oppression'
The worker was an employee of the government of Alberta starting in 2007. In 2010, she joined the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General (Alberta Justice). She had positive performance reviews and a clean disciplinary record – although she had two non-disciplinary incidents related to using profanity in the workplace.
The worker was white but had two children of mixed race who lived with her.
On Jan. 14, 2021, the worker attended a videoconference meeting – a common occurrence with many government employees working from home during the pandemic. She joined the meeting a few minutes early with several other employees and participated in informal discussions.
During the informal discussion prior to the meeting, a colleague asked “what music are kids listening to.” The worker replied that she didn’t like the rap music her kids preferred because it was derogatory to women and used words like “bitches” and worse. She also said that the lyrics often used the N-word, although she uttered the full word.
Other employees were upset by the worker’s use of the N-word and felt that it was a racially-tinged view of a genre of music pioneered by Black artists. No managers had logged on yet, so only employees heard the worker’s comment.
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Formal complaints
Two colleagues filed complaints under the provincial government’s respectful workplace policy. The first colleague, who was the mother of two Black children, was upset at the “racist and hurtful” comments and had to leave the meeting. She also took the rest of the day off.
The second colleague, who was a person of colour, said that the N-word was the only racial word that the worker used in the conversation but it was inappropriate for a workplace meeting. The colleague also accused the worker of making statements about Black music and Black men.
The two colleagues also contacted the manager and had tearful video chats with her. Afterwards, the manager emailed several employees, including the worker, advising them to “calm down and reflect” and they would discuss the matter later.
Some employees responded that they were upset over what had happened, although they were divided over whether the worker had done anything wrong. The second colleague requested time off, which was granted.
Management reviewed that chat from the meeting, which showed the first colleague writing that “you can’t say that word” and that the worker should “shut your mouth.” The second colleague wrote that the worker needed to apologize for everyone “for her stupidity and ignorance,” while the worker angrily wrote that “I apologize that I don’t approve of the inappropriate words they use in today’s music.”
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Investigation launched
However, once the colleagues filed formal complaints, the manager was ordered to shut down further discussion so Alberta Justice could conduct a formal investigation based on three allegations from the complaints – the worker made derogatory and negative comments related to a specific genre of music, she made derogatory comments based on race and colour, and she continued to make such comments after others asked her to stop.
The worker said that she felt attacked and unsupported, and it was unfair that she could be called stupid and ignorant while it wasn’t okay for her to say certain words were wrong. She admitted that she used the wrong word, but it wasn’t meant as a racial slur. She told the manager that it was a “learning opportunity” and she was “truly sorry” for offending her colleagues.
At an investigative interview, the worker said that her discussion of music “was a passionate and heated topic.” She admitted to using the N-word once as well as the word “bitches.” She acknowledged commenting about the lyrics of rap music but did not refer to it as “Black music” or use any other racial labels. She added that the informal nature of the pre-meeting discussions and virtual meetings made her less careful about what she said.
The worker also admitted that she felt attacked after her comment and that she wished she would have apologized appropriately.
Several employees who heard the discussion were also interviewed. Their stories varied on what was said, although they all agreed that the worker made heated comments about rap music and most heard her say the N-word.
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Derogatory racial comments
The investigator issued a report on March 31 that concluded that only one of the allegations was founded – that the worker made derogatory comments based on race and colour. This was still a breach of the respectful workplace policy, given that the N-word was “synonymous with a historical weight of denigration, racism, and was created as a tool of oppression when describing Black individuals forced into slavery,” said the investigator.
On April 21, Alberta Justice terminated the worker’s employment for using the N-word while expressing her personal views on music and its correlation to gender and violence. The termination letter stated that she was expected “to uphold and exemplify the values of the province,” she had been observed using expletive language in the past, and she had “shown a lack of regard to change in your behaviour.”
The worker filed a grievance alleging there was no cause for dismissal.
The arbitrator noted that while the accounts of different employees varied, they were consistent in that, although the worker didn’t initiate the conversation about music, she was the most outspoken and was highly critical of the lyrics used in rap music. Everyone – including the worker – agreed that the worker used the N-word at least once while using other expletives. In addition, while the worker denied she used the word “Black” to describe the music negatively, others said that she did and the investigator concluded that she did as well.
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No intention, but no awareness
The arbitrator found that it was unlikely that the worker intended to demean or insult Black people, but her comments could easily be interpreted that way to make them hurtful and offensive. In addition, she demonstrated no awareness in the moment of the impact of her opinions, which was worsened by her angry reaction to the chat dialogue, said the arbitrator.
However, the arbitrator noted that context and intention mattered. There was a difference between calling a Black person the N-word and quoting the use of that word in music lyrics, the arbitrator said, adding that the worker’s misconduct was not appreciating how her criticisms of rap music could be perceived by others.
The arbitrator also noted that the worker tried to apologize after she realized that she had offended some of her colleagues. She admitted to using the N-word and clarified that her intention was not to be hurtful.
The arbitrator also found that two managers joined the meeting and neither intervened, which may have created the impression that there was nothing wrong with what the worker was saying.
The worker ordered Alberta Justice to reinstate the worker with a 10-day suspension in place of her termination and to compensate the worker for any lost wages from the end of the suspension. See Government of Alberta (Justice and Solicitor General) v. Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, 2023 CanLII 9121.
