On April 5, Minna Rawllns, CFO of New York City’s Billings/Watts, emailed a staffer thanking him for his “fastidious” attention to detail. She was dismissed an hour later, claiming she was never informed the word “fastidious” had become offensive.
In a Zoom meeting a week later, Alternatives VP Stella Workington, of Fresno, California’s Plisstik said she wanted to “tip her hat” to the finance department. She was fired before the meeting ended.
More than 200,000 business people have been forced from their jobs over the past two years for using words and expressions added to the American List Institute’s list of offensive terms. Many were unaware of the additions because they’d been working from home because of the pandemic.
“The institute really dropped the ball,” says Workington, “If I’d know about the hats I would tipped something else.” She is currently looking for another job and fears that the reason for her departure from Plisstik will make things difficult.
The institute’s VP of Dissemination, Georgia Portage, admits that the 14,000-plus additions haven’t been communicated as well as they should have been. “I guess we’ve always counted on people finding out at work,” she says. “With so many people not in the office a lot of things slipped through the cracks.”
The institute, she says, is looking at different solutions – including allowing a 30-day grace period in which the terms may still be used, with only minor repercussions ranging from a small fine to a public shaming.
(UPDATE: The term “slipped through the cracks” was added to the list on June 22; Ms. Portage is no longer affiliated with the institute.)
