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New Zealand Woman Fired for Using Bolded ALL CAPS in E-Mail

by Caleb Johnson on September 1, 2009 at 12:40 PM

A New Zealand office worker recently learned a tough lesson: When sending an e-mail, be careful with fonts and colors. Someone could interpret that bold sentence the wrong way.

According to The New Zealand Herald, Vicki Walker was fired from her position as financial controller at ProCare Health for sending "confrontational" e-mails that included words in red, bold, and worst of all, capital letters. This happened in December 2007, after Walker had already worked her white-collar job for nearly two years. ProCare says that Walker's e-mails had sown seeds of discord in the office, because they included things like specified times and dates in red. Oh, my! And how dare Walker highlight and bold this statement in blue: "To ensure your staff claim is processed and paid, please do follow the below checklist." What an outrage!

However, Walker may have the last laugh, here. After being fired, she did what any sane person would do and took her former employer to court. Not only did Walker receive the equivalent of $12,000 for unfair dismissal, but she also plans on pressing further charges. Get it while you can, lady. At least she has a legitimate complaint, unlike this fool who badmouthed his job on Facebook. After all, office workers' rights to bold, highlight and capitalize should be protected at any cost. How else do you get a point across in this day and age? Speak it, or something? [From: The New Zealand Herald]

Tags: e-mail, email, employment, etiquette, fired, lawsuit, NewZealand, office, top, web, work, workplace

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