Jack Astor's waitress claims she was sent home because hair was in a bun
'Your hair should be up in a restaurant. It's more classy and professional,' Akua Agyemfra says
A 20-year-old woman saysshe was sent home during her shift at a Jack Astor'sBar and Grillbecause her hair was in a bun.
In an exclusive interview with CBC News,Akua Agyemfrasaidshe was wearing her hairin a bun during her job interview when assistant manager Sabrina Chiodoasked, "'Do you mind if your hair is down?' And I said, 'No.'"
Agyemfrasaidshe was over the moon whenshe gothired "on the spot." But her excitement didn't last long.
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Shecame forward followingCBC'sMarketplace investigationinto skimpy uniforms that some restaurants require their female staff to wear.
Agyemfrasaid on her third day of training at the restaurant'slocation near Highway 27 and Dixon Road, Chiodo"sits me down and says, 'I'm sorry to have to let you go home.'"
"She was really nice about it," Agyemfrasaid. "She said a lot of the girls were talking about my hair and that it was in a bun and theirs isn't. But it kinda sucked."
Agyemfra said"a lot of Caucasian people don't really understand"that her hair doesn't go down.
"But itstill doesn't take away from the fact that she sent me home."
Agyemfrasaid her friends can't believe shewas sent home because her hair was in a bun and that her mother suggested she not return to the Jack Astor's restaurant where the incident happened.
"You should have your hair however you want, that's my only problem (with what happened)," she said. "Ifeel your hair should be up in a restaurant.It's more classy and more professional."
On Tuesday, the OHRCcalledfor an end to clothing requirements thatdiscriminate against femaleandtransgenderworkers.
With files by Makda Ghebreslassie