An Amazon security guard sued for harassment after claiming a colleague 'ridiculed' him by comparing him to famously short 1980s' child star Gary Coleman. Christian Ononye said he was being harassed because of his height after someone pinned a picture of the American actor to a wall at work.
However, his case was thrown out after a tribunal ruled that as the picture was only of Coleman's head and shoulders it could not have been meant to mock Mr Ononye's stature. Coleman was known for playing the role of Arnold Jackson in the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, with his iconic catchphrase 'Whatcha talkin bout Willis?'
The popular show about two African-American boys being taken in by a rich white man ran for eight series and 189 episodes between 1978–1986. The actor suffered from a condition known as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, an autoimmune disease that alters the kidneys. As a result, he stopped growing at a height of 4'8''. He died in 2010, aged 42, as a result of a head injury caused by a fall.
The tribunal, held in Norwich, heard Mr Ononye was hired by MAN Commercial Protection Limited to provide security at Amazon’s warehouse in Peterborough, Cambs, from August 2019. In November, Mr Ononye claimed an agency worker at the site 'ridiculed' him by 'pinning up a picture of a person of small stature'.
The tribunal heard someone had printed and put up a picture showing the head and shoulders of the late Gary Coleman. Mr Ononye complained about this to site security manager Richard Unitt, believing he was the intended target of the poster, and the picture was removed.
The tribunal heard Mr Unitt carried out an investigation of those on shift but that did not reveal who printed the picture or put it up because there was no CCTV in that area. Mr Unitt sent an email following this to staff regarding 'respect to all colleagues', bullying and harassment.
The tribunal heard that Mr Ononye was repeatedly criticised by Mr Unitt for poor time keeping which he said was due to a faulty car battery. The Nigerian national was sacked the following year for refusing to empty his pockets when bosses noticed a 'bulge' and suspected him of stealing.
The tribunal heard how, by February 2020, Mr Ononye had been searched on no less than eight occasions without objection and had co-operated. Workers at the Amazon site were searched regularly due to rising thefts.
However, on one occasion Mr Unitt asked Mr Ononye to empty his pockets after noticing 'visible evidence of potentially concealed items in his pocket'. When he refused to empty his pockets after Mr Unitt asked him twice, Mr Ononye was suspended for 'failing to adhere to a reasonable management instruction.
The following month, he was sacked after a disciplinary meeting and sued his employers for race discrimination, harassment and unfair dismissal. As well as the height harassment claim, Mr Ononye also alleged he had been racially abused by a colleague over a radio. He accused the colleague of saying 'Christian, speak to me in English' but the tribunal heard none of the other workers heard this.
All of his claims were rejected by the tribunal. Of the Gary Coleman claim, Judge Robin Postle said: "[Mr Ononye] took offence at this, believing he was being made the subject of ridicule because of [his] height. Apparently Mr Coleman was of short stature. The picture does not in any way show that Mr Coleman is of diminished stature."
Of him complaining that he was unfairly singled out for being late, Judge Postle said: "It is simply not an excuse for lateness to say on the second, third, fourth and fifth occasion ‘oh no it’s my battery, I knew I had a faulty battery’. The Tribunal therefore found no evidence that [Mr Ononye] was being singled out for being late, or that he was being treated any differently or less favourably than any other employee who arrived late on a regular basis."
And of his eventual sacking, the judge said the company was within its rights to regard a refusal to be searched as gross misconduct.
