Work appropriate attire?
What happens when you wear a Mariachi suit to work? Ask former CNN studio technician William Kane who was fired from CNN in June 2013, allegedly as a result of wearing “flamboyant” outfits. Mr. Kane “claims he was discriminated against and fired for being gay and for wearing extravagant clothes that included mariachi outfits, yellow track suits and cowboy hats” (Algar, New York Post, 2014). Apparently these vibrant outfits were determined incompatible with the workplace. In return, Mr. Kane has officially filed a $65 million Brooklyn federal lawsuit against CNN for the discrimination. Mr. Kane, who worked for CNN as a technical operator from 2002 to 2013, became well-known for his flashy garb – even with some of the more popular news anchors such as Piers Morgan and Christiane Amanpour. One day while wearing a black mariachi suit, he caught the attention of Ms. Amanpour who asked Mr. Kane to a take a photo with her; the photo was posted directly to her Twitter page in October 2012 (Algar, New York Post, 2014).