The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A funeral home manager, whose photo of the casket for one of Nassau’s most “flamboyant” dressers went “viral on social media”, has lost her $14,472 claim for wrongful dismissal.

Justice Indra Charles found that Melanie Johnson was “simply wrong and unprofessional” for taking a picture of the customised casket for the late Frank Hanna, founder and president of Frank Hanna Cleaning Company.

Finding that Bethel Brothers Morticians was justified in firing her due to a loss of “trust and confidence”, the Supreme Court judge ordered Mrs Johnson to pay the company’s $26,950 legal costs in addition to $7,120 to cover Mr Hanna’s funeral costs.

The funeral home had itself absorbed the funeral costs in a bid to “appease” Mr Hanna’s furious family after the photo of his casket became a major talking point in Nassau society. Mrs Johnson now faces a $34,000 bill for both the funeral and her former employer’s legal costs, as well as her own.

Detailing the background to the dispute, Justice Charles wrote: “By all accounts, the late Frank Hanna was a flamboyant man. Following his demise on April 14, 2016, his family wanted to honour him in like fashion. On or about April 16, 2016, they went to Bethel Brothers Morticians Company to retain their services in customising a casket with vinyl wrap, epitomising the wardrobe worn by the deceased when he was alive.

“The family also wanted the customised casket to be placed in the selection room as opposed to the garage to keep it away from prying eyes. I surmised that the object was for family members and the general public to be enthralled by such a unique casket on the day of public viewing.”

This did not go to plan. “On or about April 28, 2016, Melanie Johnson, then the assistant funeral manager of [Bethel Brothers], took a picture of the casket and forwarded it to her husband, a funeral home manager,” Justice Charles wrote.

“Almost immediately, the casket went viral on social media. To put it mildly, the Hanna family was not pleased with the publication. In an effort to appease them, [Bethel Brothers] absorbed the costs of the funeral along with the costs associated with the customisation of the casket.”

Mrs Johnson was dismissed four days’ later on May 2, 2016, on the basis that she had breached both Bethel Brothers’ general regulations and the Employment Act by acting in a manner detrimental to the company’s interests.

“The Defendant [Bethel Brothers] also alleged that the plaintiff’s actions constituted insubordination, breach of confidentiality, gross negligence or gross misconduct, and exposed it to liability in the sum of $7,119.73,” Justice Charles added.

“On May 5, 2016, the daughter and son-in-law of [Mr Hanna] received a letter from the plaintiff’s husband admitting that the plaintiff had taken the photo and apologising for the distress caused to the family. The letter fell short of admitting that he was the one that posted the picture on social media.”

Nevertheless, Mrs Johnson proceeded with her claim for wrongful dismissal and the $14,472 she claimed was owed as payment in lieu of notice. “She stated that it was never explained to her or to any of the staff that the Hanna family specifically requested that the casket was to remain anonymous until public viewing and, as far as she was aware, there is no company or public policy preventing the defendant’s staff from taking pictures of an empty casket,” Justice Charles said of her defense.

“She further stated that there is no law incorporated in her contract of employment which prohibits the taking of pictures of an empty casket. According to her, it is only unethical to take an unauthorised picture of human remains. She testified that there are thousands of customised caskets posted all over social media and the Internet.”

However, Lee Chong, Mr Hanna’s son-in-law, said he told Mrs Johnson and others on April 22, 2016, that the casket was “to be customised in their private room and not in their garage for complete privacy”.

And Sidney Sawyer, a funeral director/embalmer employed by Bethel Brothers, said Mr Chong had requested that there be “no social media attention” when Mrs Johnson was present. Justice Charles, accepting their evidence, found that the plaintiff was fully aware of the family’s privacy request.

“In the circumstances, I find that the defendant was justified in summarily dismissing the plaintiff. What the plaintiff did was simply wrong and unprofessional resulting in the defendant no longer having any trust and confidence in the plaintiff,” Justice Charles ruled.