Fired For Email Shouting

This one’s made its way around my office today. Technically Incorrect:

[C]onsider the plight of Vicki Walker, an accountant with ProCare Health in Auckland, New Zealand.

According to the trusty New Zealand Herald, ProCare, in dismissing Walker, told her that her e-mail style had caused ripples of disturbance in the serene landscape of her fellow workers’ minds.

Her sins, for there were reportedly several, were that she used capital letters, bold typefaces and, perish the mere concept, red text in her e-mails.

Walker reacted to this dismissal with an exclamation point and some question marks. She took ProCare Health to an employment tribunal, where she was awarded 17,000 NZ dollars ($11,447) in compensation.

Apparently the company put only one email into evidence.