fired for using a racial slur

[Jrapp]

Hello

I just wanted to know if anyone has encountered what I am about to describe below.

I have a friend who is a Canadian permanent resident who is here in on worker visa who used to work for one of the big chain pharmacies. He was hired on or around 2008 when the big companies were still doling out these HB Visas or whatever they are called. He moved to the US because he could not clear the Canadian exams (even after I tried to help him pass as I was still a licensed pharmacist up north at the time).

Fast forward to today.

A few weeks ago I reached out to him hoping to meet him and he told me he couldn't make it because he was depressed because he was just let go from his job. He was an overnight pharmacist working at a very busy store near the Virginia beach area so he had little interaction with patients or the regular staff who works there during the day.

The reason for his dismissal was because he had uttered the "N" word in a way that obviously offended a bi-racial technician (half black, half white according to him) who worked at that store. The word was not said with any malice or ill will according to him. It only came up due to the many BLM protests that were occurring around that area recently. He had simply asked her "jokingly" why do black people use such a vulgar term when speaking to each other. This was how he described it to me. After he said this she said she was offended and he offered her an apology. There was a day shift pharmacist present who was also HB Visa sponsored who witnessed the incident. My friend said that he believed that the tech did not personally like him (another stupid reason for him not to have spoken to her about this matter).

About a week after this incident HR contacted him to ask him questions about it. It was at this point that I wish my friend would have taken the matter seriously. He was just being sincere and honest and not realizing how serious the matter was. After this interview he believed the matter was over. Several days later he was informed at the end of his shift that he was being let go by his supervisor (also an HB sponsored pharmacist - he said he went to bat for him but my friend doesn't believe this to be true).

My friend is South Asian and a Canadian permanent resident whose worker visa is set to expire at the end of September. He has a house with a mortgage, 2 cars, a stay at home wife (who came to the US on an HB4 from overseas according to him), and 2 small kids. He does not have a license to practice anywhere in Canada. With all of this at risk I just don't understand how he could be so careless and say something so stupid. I really feel bad for the wife and the kids too because they are truly between a rock and a hard place.

I believe Virginia is an employer friendly state and I also believe that the company wasn't going to renew his Visa anyways ( I didn't ask him if he was preparing for contingencies in the event that they didn't renew BEFORE he uttered this stupid remark). I believe this incident just gave the company an easy out.

Has anyone ever witnessed this or been a part of something like this? I can't believe that this happened to him and that it would escalate all they way up the discipline protocol to termination without allowing him to undergo some sort of sensitivity training or other discipline.

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[radio frequency]

I can totally believe it. Your friend was in the wrong. Regardless of personal beliefs, this is something to NEVER say at work.

 

[6GodPharm]

I use the word in my daily life, but not at work. Never know who's going to get offended. I have strong views and beliefs that many wouldn't agree with but you have to keep them to yourself at work. I don't even enter politic or racial talks at work for that reason if they came up. Your friend is screwed. Someone got offended and company saw a opening to get him out. He won't get back in.

 

[TheBlaah]

This was an extremely stupid thing to do made even more stupid by the fact that he was on a work visa.

 

[ldiot]

Yeah it doesn't matter what his intentions were you just don't say this kind of stuff at work. You never know how other people are going to react.

He was lucky to be here in the first place seeing as we don't need more incompetent HB visa people. He should have taken this opportunity more seriously.

 

[boriqua]

i use the word everyday too at work. you kinda have to in the bronx. one of the techs at my store is black and i call him a b*tch ass n*gga everyday and in return, he calls me a slanty eyed ch*nk. then we laugh about it afterwards. this PC society sucks and i'm glad i don't have to worry about it where i work.

 

[6GodPharm]

i use the word everyday too at work. you kinda have to in the bronx. one of the techs at my store is black and i call him a b*tch ass n*gga everyday and in return, he calls me a slanty eyed ch*nk. then we laugh about it afterwards. this PC society sucks and i'm glad i don't have to worry about it where i work.

I don't know if this is real but this made my day lol the first phrase is part of my daily vocabulary

 

[Sine Cura]

In today's work environment, you should assume it takes only one slip-up to get you fired, even if HR has to establish a pattern

 

[lord999]

Hello

I just wanted to know if anyone has encountered what I am about to describe below.

I have a friend who is a Canadian permanent resident who is here in on worker visa who used to work for one of the big chain pharmacies. He was hired on or around 2008 when the big companies were still doling out these HB Visas or whatever they are called. He moved to the US because he could not clear the Canadian exams (even after I tried to help him pass as I was still a licensed pharmacist up north at the time).

Fast forward to today.

A few weeks ago I reached out to him hoping to meet him and he told me he couldn't make it because he was depressed because he was just let go from his job. He was an overnight pharmacist working at a very busy store near the Virginia beach area so he had little interaction with patients or the regular staff who works there during the day.

The reason for his dismissal was because he had uttered the "N" word in a way that obviously offended a bi-racial technician (half black, half white according to him) who worked at that store. The word was not said with any malice or ill will according to him. It only came up due to the many BLM protests that were occurring around that area recently. He had simply asked her "jokingly" why do black people use such a vulgar term when speaking to each other. This was how he described it to me. After he said this she said she was offended and he offered her an apology. There was a day shift pharmacist present who was also HB Visa sponsored who witnessed the incident. My friend said that he believed that the tech did not personally like him (another stupid reason for him not to have spoken to her about this matter).

About a week after this incident HR contacted him to ask him questions about it. It was at this point that I wish my friend would have taken the matter seriously. He was just being sincere and honest and not realizing how serious the matter was. After this interview he believed the matter was over. Several days later he was informed at the end of his shift that he was being let go by his supervisor (also an HB sponsored pharmacist - he said he went to bat for him but my friend doesn't believe this to be true).

My friend is South Asian and a Canadian permanent resident whose worker visa is set to expire at the end of September. He has a house with a mortgage, 2 cars, a stay at home wife (who came to the US on an HB4 from overseas according to him), and 2 small kids. He does not have a license to practice anywhere in Canada. With all of this at risk I just don't understand how he could be so careless and say something so stupid. I really feel bad for the wife and the kids too because they are truly between a rock and a hard place.

I believe Virginia is an employer friendly state and I also believe that the company wasn't going to renew his Visa anyways ( I didn't ask him if he was preparing for contingencies in the event that they didn't renew BEFORE he uttered this stupid remark). I believe this incident just gave the company an easy out.

Has anyone ever witnessed this or been a part of something like this? I can't believe that this happened to him and that it would escalate all they way up the discipline protocol to termination without allowing him to undergo some sort of sensitivity training or other discipline.

Yep, and in the feds, it's still something that you get the next worst thing than termination for (forced SF-52 demotion). It's an instant termination offense in most corporate handbooks as it's a hot potato that they don't want to get in trouble with Equal Opportunity through DoL.

Oh, and if they are Walgreens, know that they are still under a federal order due to their past discrimination issues on hiring. That's really unfortunate.

Sigh, I wish I was in boriqua's place in terms of having that sort of casual manner, but on the other hand, they don't call my headquarters (VA Central Office - Vermont) "The Plantation" for decorative reasons. There's a reason why there's an excessive number of restrooms on each floor and why there are short floors and tall floors in the building. I have an office in the tall floor and my administrative assistant has her cubicle on the short floor next to the short restroom.

 

[beautifulrobot]

No real advice for the OP except getting in touch with an immigration lawyer and applying to other jobs in the area like your life depends on it, or go back to school and get a student visa.

It's interesting how unsympathetic most folks commenting are to the pharmacist who got fired... I can't help but wonder if the fact that he's on a work visa is the reason for this lack of sympathy, and if comments would have a different general tone if he was a US citizen.

 

[mentos]

This is why I don't talk to coworkers. The techs always try to tell me gossip and talk **** about customers and other techs and I'm like "I don't care do you work".

 

[6GodPharm]

This is why I don't talk to coworkers. The techs always try to tell me gossip and talk **** about customers and other techs and I'm like "I don't care do you work".

Yup they make crumbs to us. Nothing to lose. We have a ton to lose.

 

[ZakMeister]

Hello

I just wanted to know if anyone has encountered what I am about to describe below.

I have a friend who is a Canadian permanent resident who is here in on worker visa who used to work for one of the big chain pharmacies. He was hired on or around 2008 when the big companies were still doling out these HB Visas or whatever they are called. He moved to the US because he could not clear the Canadian exams (even after I tried to help him pass as I was still a licensed pharmacist up north at the time).

Fast forward to today.

A few weeks ago I reached out to him hoping to meet him and he told me he couldn't make it because he was depressed because he was just let go from his job. He was an overnight pharmacist working at a very busy store near the Virginia beach area so he had little interaction with patients or the regular staff who works there during the day.

The reason for his dismissal was because he had uttered the "N" word in a way that obviously offended a bi-racial technician (half black, half white according to him) who worked at that store. The word was not said with any malice or ill will according to him. It only came up due to the many BLM protests that were occurring around that area recently. He had simply asked her "jokingly" why do black people use such a vulgar term when speaking to each other. This was how he described it to me. After he said this she said she was offended and he offered her an apology. There was a day shift pharmacist present who was also HB Visa sponsored who witnessed the incident. My friend said that he believed that the tech did not personally like him (another stupid reason for him not to have spoken to her about this matter).

About a week after this incident HR contacted him to ask him questions about it. It was at this point that I wish my friend would have taken the matter seriously. He was just being sincere and honest and not realizing how serious the matter was. After this interview he believed the matter was over. Several days later he was informed at the end of his shift that he was being let go by his supervisor (also an HB sponsored pharmacist - he said he went to bat for him but my friend doesn't believe this to be true).

My friend is South Asian and a Canadian permanent resident whose worker visa is set to expire at the end of September. He has a house with a mortgage, 2 cars, a stay at home wife (who came to the US on an HB4 from overseas according to him), and 2 small kids. He does not have a license to practice anywhere in Canada. With all of this at risk I just don't understand how he could be so careless and say something so stupid. I really feel bad for the wife and the kids too because they are truly between a rock and a hard place.

I believe Virginia is an employer friendly state and I also believe that the company wasn't going to renew his Visa anyways ( I didn't ask him if he was preparing for contingencies in the event that they didn't renew BEFORE he uttered this stupid remark). I believe this incident just gave the company an easy out.

Has anyone ever witnessed this or been a part of something like this? I can't believe that this happened to him and that it would escalate all they way up the discipline protocol to termination without allowing him to undergo some sort of sensitivity training or other discipline.

Do you know which province he tried getting his license? Did he do PharmD or BS Pharm in Canada?


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[M0df]

When HR wants to talk to you, it is never good. He should have found a lawyer but with another pharmacist present, his fate was sealed. His life is not completely ruined but obviously he won't be living in Virginia anymore. I think lack of sympathy comes from the fact that most of us try very hard not to do something stupid like this and keep our job/license.

 

[Lnsean]

play stupid games win stupid prizes

 

[ExpressMaiL]

Given the political and social climate with what has been happening across the country, your friend got a lesson in "street smarts," something pharmacy schools can't teach and many rank-and-file workers seem to lack.

 

[Reirrac]

You did all you could for your friend, and that is commendable. The rest is up to him...

 

[RPh Who]

Too bad he couldnt feign ignorance as a foreigner. He could always claim he didnt understand the "social significance" of the word. He could reasonably argue that he hears them say it all the time and thus did not understand the double standard of PC culture...

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

You don't make jokes about bombs to a TSA agent if you want to get on your flight. You don't joke about or discuss anything related to race, religion, or other protected classes at work. Just don't go there. And by the way, if you are a manager of any type (that includes staff pharmacists by some definitions) and you don't report an employee who does this, you are probably going to be fired too.

 

[gwarm01]

I make a lot of inappropriate jokes at work, but it's always around friends who don't mind stupid jokes and understand you aren't being serious. Never around people I don't know well or aren't comfortable with. Even then, whew, racial slurs.. I thought everyone knew that was a no go.

 

[ldiot]

Also another good rule to follow: Never talk about politics at work

 

[sosoo]

when i was an intern 2010, a pharmacy manager got fired b/c he was raising his middle finger to a lady at drop off. she was with a child. they were both black, in washington, Dc black neighborhood. although he totally deserve it, but working for cvs he was really overly stressed. cvs is and was a big stressful workplace with severe under staffing of the pharmacy. raising the middle finger to the lady was his last gasp for air. luckily his wife is a pharmacist and can cushion the fall.

 

[Dalteparin]

It's interesting how unsympathetic most folks commenting are to the pharmacist who got fired... I can't help but wonder if the fact that he's on a work visa is the reason for this lack of sympathy, and if comments would have a different general tone if he was a US citizen.

Nope. It's never OK to use racial slurs. In fact, the fact that the fired pharmacist is a foreigner is the only thing that gives me even a tiny bit of sympathy for him; since he's not from the US he might not understand the gravity what he said. But even then, if you speak English well enough to practice pharmacy, you should know what the curse words and slurs are and why it's not a good idea to use them.

 

[beautifulrobot]

Nope. It's never OK to use racial slurs. In fact, the fact that the fired pharmacist is a foreigner is the only thing that gives me even a tiny bit of sympathy for him; since he's not from the US he might not understand the gravity what he said. But even then, if you speak English well enough to practice pharmacy, you should know what the curse words and slurs are and why it's not a good idea to use them.

I agree that it is never ok to use derogatory language and slur words at work, and am definitely not defending the pharmacists use of the word. I'm just a bit surprised at how the general tone of the comments is that it was totally reasonable that this person was fired for using a slur word (once, in a non-malicious context, who quickly apologized and never said it again, and without any opportunity for remediation). I would expect at least some folks to express a bit of outrage or disbelief, but instead, it's mostly a chorus generally along the lines of, "the pharmacist was stupid and deserved what he got." And that's a reasonable position to have, but it's a bit odd to me that there seems to be such a consensus about it, and I'm wondering if there's any underlying hatred towards immigrants that "took our jobs" that may be playing a role here.

And as you point out, there may have been some cultural differences or other variables, but it doesn't seem like this pharmacist was given the benefit of the doubt at any point, and it seems to me to be a bit harsh to fire someone under the circumstances described by the OP. A letter of reprimand, mandatory training, or a demotion would seem like the first reasonable step to me, but not firing someone right away.

 

[TheBlaah]

I agree that it is never ok to use derogatory language and slur words at work, and am definitely not defending the pharmacists use of the word. I'm just a bit surprised at how the general tone of the comments is that it was totally reasonable that this person was fired for using a slur word (once, in a non-malicious context, who quickly apologized and never said it again, and without any opportunity for remediation). I would expect at least some folks to express a bit of outrage or disbelief, but instead, it's mostly a chorus generally along the lines of, "the pharmacist was stupid and deserved what he got." And that's a reasonable position to have, but it's a bit odd to me that there seems to be such a consensus about it, and I'm wondering if there's any underlying hatred towards immigrants that "took our jobs" that may be playing a role here.

And as you point out, there may have been some cultural differences or other variables, but it doesn't seem like this pharmacist was given the benefit of the doubt at any point, and it seems to me to be a bit harsh to fire someone under the circumstances described by the OP. A letter of reprimand, mandatory training, or a demotion would seem like the first reasonable step to me, but not firing someone right away.

After him having worked in the states for 8 years, and already having been a permanent resident of Canada, the "cultural difference" argument starts to dissipate. He really should have learned by now which topics should and shouldn't be brought up in the workplace. There's no immigration hate, at least on my part.

 

[boriqua]

damn. cant talk about politics, can't use racial slurs, can't make jokes, can't talk about workplace drama. life must really suck

 

[radio frequency]

I agree that it is never ok to use derogatory language and slur words at work, and am definitely not defending the pharmacists use of the word. I'm just a bit surprised at how the general tone of the comments is that it was totally reasonable that this person was fired for using a slur word (once, in a non-malicious context, who quickly apologized and never said it again, and without any opportunity for remediation). I would expect at least some folks to express a bit of outrage or disbelief, but instead, it's mostly a chorus generally along the lines of, "the pharmacist was stupid and deserved what he got." And that's a reasonable position to have, but it's a bit odd to me that there seems to be such a consensus about it, and I'm wondering if there's any underlying hatred towards immigrants that "took our jobs" that may be playing a role here.

And as you point out, there may have been some cultural differences or other variables, but it doesn't seem like this pharmacist was given the benefit of the doubt at any point, and it seems to me to be a bit harsh to fire someone under the circumstances described by the OP. A letter of reprimand, mandatory training, or a demotion would seem like the first reasonable step to me, but not firing someone right away.

Nope. I don't want have nor want his former job. No matter your color or creed, this is a big time protected class issue in the States and you don't bring that up at work. Period.

 

[owlegrad]

damn. cant talk about politics, can't use racial slurs, can't make jokes, can't talk about workplace drama. life must really suck

Don't worry Trump will make America great again

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using SDN mobile

 

[Sine Cura]

And as you point out, there may have been some cultural differences or other variables, but it doesn't seem like this pharmacist was given the benefit of the doubt at any point, and it seems to me to be a bit harsh to fire someone under the circumstances described by the OP. A letter of reprimand, mandatory training, or a demotion would seem like the first reasonable step to me, but not firing someone right away.

More likely his supervisor wanted to get rid of him. It is also an easy call to make. I wouldn't expect to call some tweaker patient a meth-addled donkey-****er and get away with it.

I would never expect the benefit of the doubt from my superior. Retail pharmacists are just commodities and it's really hard to find really good ones in part because no one wants to work retail.

Burn and churn. Next!

 

[zelman]

I agree that it is never ok to use derogatory language and slur words at work, and am definitely not defending the pharmacists use of the word. I'm just a bit surprised at how the general tone of the comments is that it was totally reasonable that this person was fired for using a slur word (once, in a non-malicious context, who quickly apologized and never said it again, and without any opportunity for remediation). I would expect at least some folks to express a bit of outrage or disbelief, but instead, it's mostly a chorus generally along the lines of, "the pharmacist was stupid and deserved what he got." And that's a reasonable position to have, but it's a bit odd to me that there seems to be such a consensus about it, and I'm wondering if there's any underlying hatred towards immigrants that "took our jobs" that may be playing a role here.

And as you point out, there may have been some cultural differences or other variables, but it doesn't seem like this pharmacist was given the benefit of the doubt at any point, and it seems to me to be a bit harsh to fire someone under the circumstances described by the OP. A letter of reprimand, mandatory training, or a demotion would seem like the first reasonable step to me, but not firing someone right away.

Remediation would work for a customer complaint. If it's a coworker who says they have a hostile work environment, HR is weighing the likelihood of two different lawsuits. They picked the one that didn't involve paying a tech to not work for years.

 

[owlegrad]

I agree that it is never ok to use derogatory language and slur words at work, and am definitely not defending the pharmacists use of the word. I'm just a bit surprised at how the general tone of the comments is that it was totally reasonable that this person was fired for using a slur word (once, in a non-malicious context, who quickly apologized and never said it again, and without any opportunity for remediation). I would expect at least some folks to express a bit of outrage or disbelief, but instead, it's mostly a chorus generally along the lines of, "the pharmacist was stupid and deserved what he got." And that's a reasonable position to have, but it's a bit odd to me that there seems to be such a consensus about it, and I'm wondering if there's any underlying hatred towards immigrants that "took our jobs" that may be playing a role here.

And as you point out, there may have been some cultural differences or other variables, but it doesn't seem like this pharmacist was given the benefit of the doubt at any point, and it seems to me to be a bit harsh to fire someone under the circumstances described by the OP. A letter of reprimand, mandatory training, or a demotion would seem like the first reasonable step to me, but not firing someone right away.

I don't think it is a race issue at all. It is just that most pharmacists are educated enough to know not to use the N word at work. It is such an unreasonable thing to do that most of us are probably not likely to be sympathetic. Like Daltiparen mentioned the part of this makes me have any sympathy for the pharmacist at all is the fact that he is foreign. He has an uphill battle if he tried to pursue any sort of wrongful termination suit (not even sure that is possible on a work visa?). For his sake I do hope he is able to find another job and obviously has learned what not to say at work.

On a completely separate issue, is the Canadian exam really so much harder that he couldn't pass it but could pass ours? That seems very odd to me. It also seems odd that he could fail to get licensed in Canada but was able to be licensed here.

 

[lord999]

I don't think it is a race issue at all. It is just that most pharmacists are educated enough to know not to use the N word at work. It is such an unreasonable thing to do that most of us are probably not likely to be sympathetic. Like Daltiparen mentioned the part of this makes me have any sympathy for the pharmacist at all is the fact that he is foreign. He has an uphill battle if he tried to pursue any sort of wrongful termination suit (not even sure that is possible on a work visa?). For his sake I do hope he is able to find another job and obviously has learned what not to say at work.

On a completely separate issue, is the Canadian exam really so much harder that he couldn't pass it but could pass ours? That seems very odd to me. It also seems odd that he could fail to get licensed in Canada but was able to be licensed here.

https://mn.gov/boards/assets/Canadian College of Pharmacy Graduate Checklist_tcm21-29104.pdf

Oh yea, the English (not Quebec's) Canadian exam was the California exam on steroids. The year I graduated (2004), the highest Board passage rate on first attempt for CA under the old CALPLEX and for a number of years were the Canadians at 80ish% and then UCSF in the 60s and then UofP distantly. We actually had the opportunity to jointly qualify as Minnesota and Manitoba had a mutually recognized articulation agreement through the 2004 graduation year (no FPGEE, no need to actually do your hours in Canada or they in the US). I overstudied for the NAPLEX and easily passed it (upper 140s) but passed the PQE Multiple Choice by two points. There's a lot of medicinal chemistry and basic science questions on there that were not part of the NAPLEX examination topics (I remember questions to fill in the TCA cycle on one section and the proper identification procedures for steroids using analytical chemistry). You had to actually study Remington's and your pick of your favorite organic analytical chemistry book to pass their exam back then. I lucked out that year that the written open response though was ACLS and methicillin-resistant treatment which were subjects that I absolutely knew going into this. I passed both and got the Manitoba license, though I never use it. It will be interesting though as it would qualify me for citizenship there someday if I wanted to exercise that working clause, but ended up working for the feds, but it was kind of a interesting interdisciplinary experience.

Not that any of that knowledge is worth a damn in day-to-day practice anyway...I always thought that it was specifically like the Latin and Greek entrance exams to Oxon and Cantab where it was a class distinction issue. I wish they would drop the majority of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutics from the undergraduate professional curriculum.

The French exam was also reputed to be harder, but my French was tres mal to even attempt reading the exam, much less pass it.

I haven't retaken the NAPLEX as of the recentered exam, so maybe they might have inched the bar up a little. I remember my NAPLEX as being so underwhelming that almost everyone in my year did not make it to the second break and many of us did not even make it to the first break before we were done.

 

[sakigt]

Sounds its his new full time job to pass that Canadian exam.

The fact that the visa was set to expire in September and they had no real plans is just insane. Sell the house, move into a trailer park and flip some burgers. At least they'll have free healthcare up there.

 

[Momus]

Use a TN visa renew it indefinitely every 3 yr. Canadian has so much easier time to find employent here. What's the problem? Just get another job.

If employers don't wanna hire him, talk to independent, get cash under the table. Even I get offers like that from indy. Done.

 

[naabilly]

yeah no remorse for your friend. regardless of his beliefs that is not a work appropriate conversation.

 

[504poboy]

Tell your friend to go apply to other places ASAP. Ask him to go check with Walmart, Walgreens, or CVS. Did you even ask him what his backup plan is? Tell him to go drive for UBER in the meantime so he can find someone to sponsor him.

 

[WarrensBeenThere]

I've seen something like this. Your friend has a lot to learn.

What he did was, in a formal situation, ask a black (not just anyone) woman who had lower-level job than his (power imbalance), why black people (blanket statement) do something he doesn't like or understand (judgmental). He may have asked this during a discussion of a controversial social movement. So many wrong actions! First, "why do black people" is racist. Second, this is not the sort of a person in a higher-level job asks a colleague in a lower level job, because the person in the lower-level job may feel they cannot respond honestly without being fired themselves. This is harassment. Third, that word should never be used in a professional setting. Fourth - given this guy's apparent racism and social cluelessness, is it possible this was not the first incident?

 

[BidingMyTime]

Tell your friend to go apply to other places ASAP. Ask him to go check with Walmart, Walgreens, or CVS. Did you even ask him what his backup plan is? Tell him to go drive for UBER in the meantime so he can find someone to sponsor him.

Literally NOBODY is sponsoring pharmacist HB-1 visas anymore. Many places are reluctant (if not outright refusing) to renew the HB-1 visas of employees already working for them. (the guy in the story in the OP's story made this decision easy for his employer.)

The friend needs to seriously make plans for his new life in Canada (or South Korea), because the chances of him getting an HB-1 visa in the US as a pharmacist are pretty much nil. Even less than nil are the chances of him getting an HB-1 visa in the current area where he is now living.

A very hard lesson for the OP's friend to learn, and one that will change his whole life. It probably won't make him feel any better, but chances are his HB-1 visa wouldn't have been renewed even if this incident had never happened.

I've said it before, co-workers are not your friends. Do not talk at work about anything but work-related matters. Do not talk about your personal life at work. Certainly never discuss politics or religion at work. Also, some bonus advice, do not post anything on Twitter or Facebook that you wouldn't say at work.

 

[ancienbon]

Literally NOBODY is sponsoring pharmacist HB-1 visas anymore. Many places are reluctant (if not outright refusing) to renew the HB-1 visas of employees already working for them. (the guy in the story in the OP's story made this decision easy for his employer.)

The friend needs to seriously make plans for his new life in Canada (or South Korea), because the chances of him getting an HB-1 visa in the US as a pharmacist are pretty much nil. Even less than nil are the chances of him getting an HB-1 visa in the current area where he is now living.

A very hard lesson for the OP's friend to learn, and one that will change his whole life. It probably won't make him feel any better, but chances are his HB-1 visa wouldn't have been renewed even if this incident had never happened.

I've said it before, co-workers are not your friends. Do not talk at work about anything but work-related matters. Do not talk about your personal life at work. Certainly never discuss politics or religion at work. Also, some bonus advice, do not post anything on Twitter or Facebook that you wouldn't say at work.

That is why i closed my facebook

 

[Momus]

Literally NOBODY is sponsoring pharmacist HB-1 visas anymore. Many places are reluctant (if not outright refusing) to renew the HB-1 visas of employees already working for them. (the guy in the story in the OP's story made this decision easy for his employer.)

The friend needs to seriously make plans for his new life in Canada (or South Korea), because the chances of him getting an HB-1 visa in the US as a pharmacist are pretty much nil. Even less than nil are the chances of him getting an HB-1 visa in the current area where he is now living.

A very hard lesson for the OP's friend to learn, and one that will change his whole life. It probably won't make him feel any better, but chances are his HB-1 visa wouldn't have been renewed even if this incident had never happened.

I've said it before, co-workers are not your friends. Do not talk at work about anything but work-related matters. Do not talk about your personal life at work. Certainly never discuss politics or religion at work. Also, some bonus advice, do not post anything on Twitter or Facebook that you wouldn't say at work.

TN visa. I mentioned it above. Don't need H1B.

 

[BenJammin]

To add to what BidingMyTime said, your co workers when put in a situation where they might lose their job will throw you under the bus in a second. You would be surprised how many people take the information you reveal at work and use it against you. Recently married, currently married, your spouse is pregnant, you just had a baby, you're going through a death in the family, etc. It can all be used against you.

That mentality is exactly why I don't get unfairly bossed around or in trouble for something you may think is really not a big deal. I don't support using racial slurs but if you're going to use them, fine. Use them with your friends. You don't have friends at work.

 

[BidingMyTime]

TN visa. I mentioned it above. Don't need H1B.

He is not a Canadian citizen. My understanding is that TN visa's apply only to citizens, not permanent residents.

 

[Reirrac]

... You don't have friends at work.

I learned this lesson the hard way. When people mention the phrase "[insert department] family" at work, I quietly laugh at the naivete. It's a harsh world we live in.